Chesshyre was charged with offences of child sexual abuse and in October 2015 stood trial before a jury sitting at Snaresbrook Crown Court. The offences pertained to a teenage male, and took place during the 1990s. Chesshyre was determined to be unfit to plead due to a stroke and dementia. The trial therefore went ahead as a trial of the facts. The jury found unanimously that he had committed two of the offences charged against him on the indictment. However, no conviction is formally recorded and the court consequently granted him an absolute discharge. The Honours and Appointments Secretariat, which is part of the Cabinet Office, said in evidence to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse that it "takes the view that the outcome of the trial holds equivalent weight to a full criminal investigation hence a criminal conviction."