Dave Newman, a 39-year-old Metropolitan Police inspector from Luton, is standing trial at Southwark Crown Court accused of sexually assaulting three women in a busy London bar. The alleged victims cannot be identified for legal reasons. Newman has pleaded not guilty to all three counts of sexual assault.
The first complainant, a junior colleague of Newman, testified on Tuesday that the alleged assault left her feeling “like a piece of meat.” Giving evidence from behind a screen, she told the court: “I wasn’t asking for it, you know, I felt disgusting – he didn’t have a right to touch me there. Not that I could forgive anywhere else (but) there is just such an intimate, private part of my body that I just don’t expect anyone to be touching.”
Alleged Incident Details
The woman described how Newman had been looking at her on the dancefloor, saying, “I could see his eyes on my chest.” She added, “I could see he was trying to get close to me and dance with me and from how he was looking I just didn’t feel comfortable.” She recalled feeling Newman’s hands “going up and down the back of (her) body” before he attempted to “seductively” whisper in her ear the song that was playing.
She said she walked away because she “just didn’t feel comfortable,” but as she did, “I felt a hand grab my vagina – it was like a thud, like a cupping motion.” The woman added: “I just froze, I didn’t know where to look, or what to do.” She reported the allegation to police the next day via the non-emergency number 101.
Other Allegations and Trial Progress
Two other women have alleged that Newman grabbed them in the vagina area above their clothes, and a third said he touched her bottom. The trial continues, with Newman denying all charges.
The court heard the complainant became emotional several times but declined an offer of a break. The trial is ongoing at Southwark Crown Court.
