25 Bedford Row criminal barrister Alex di Francesco was acquitted of sexually assaulting a 24-year-old woman in his London chambers yesterday at the Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court. Mr di Francesco, a Birmingham University graduate and formerly of Lamb Building Chambers, was accused of sexually assaulting the woman after meeting her at a local wine bar and inviting her back to the chambers to ‘try on his wig and gown’. Though District Judge Nicholas Wattam said that bringing the woman back to the chambers had been a ‘misjudgment’ on his part, he quickly acquitted Mr di Francesco: ‘I accept that one thing led to another naturally, and when the complainant gave the clear impression that he had overstepped the mark, Mr di Francesco immediately stopped what he was doing,’ said Wattam. He also expressed concern that intoxication may have clouded the memory of the woman, while simultaneously saying that he accepted that Mr di Francesco himself was ‘not drunk’ on the night of the incident: ‘[While] the claimant gave her evidence fairly, I’m concerned that her recollection is impaired by the amount of alcohol she had drunk that evening,’ he said.
Sources: Legal Cheek; The Telegraph
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