The title of your article is misleading. He hasn't been convicted of anything ... yet. There is almost no one seriously calling Pete Townshend a "criminal" at this early juncture.
Oh really! Well answer me this -- would you want to be in his shoes right now, and more importantly, based on the representative sample that we see here on FR, what kind of shape do you think your/his reputation will be in if the prosecution, after all this publicity, declines to press charges? His life is ruined, don't you think, either way?