Herts Police officer cleared of sexually assaulting colleague on night out
A serving Herts Police officer has been cleared of sexually assaulting a male colleague on a night out following a trial at Southwark Crown Court.
Lewis Black, aged 27, was found not guilty of two counts of sexual assault, the Press Association reports.
Officer Black was accused of groping a male colleague after an evening of drinking and on a separate occasion, approaching the same man in a locker room and pulling his shirt down while touching his back.
Black – who denied the charges – had said in a statement that he was “genuinely in disbelief” that the allegations had been made against him.
His lawyer Laurence Harris said in his defence speech that Officer Black “for two years now has entirely and consistently protested his innocence of these really serious charges”.
The court was told that Officer Black had asserted that he was heterosexual and was not romantically attracted to the complainant.
Summing up the evidence last week, His Honour Judge Baumgartner said Officer Black’s position was that “the allegation of sexual touching and sexual assault is entirely untrue, he maintained a complete denial throughout”.
Jurors retired to begin deliberations on Friday afternoon and returned not guilty verdicts on Monday, the Press Assocation reports.