律師非禮和襲擊

City in-house lawyer faces trial over allegation of sexual assault

Defendant accused of smacking a woman’s bottom, pouring a beer over her and calling her an “Australian slut”

Allegations of sexual assault and racial abuse have been made against a City solicitor, Alastair Main. The allegations are that he lifted up a 27-year-old woman’s skirt, slapped her bottom and called her an “Australian slut”.

35-year-old Main who, according to the Law Society, is legal counsel at Schroders, is also accused of pouring a pint of beer over the 27-year-old’s head at the London Rowing Club in Putney last December.

University of Nottingham law-graduate Main — who trained at City law firm Ashurst, according to his LinkedIn profile — appeared before Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court yesterday to enter his pleas. He pleaded not guilty to one count of sexual assault and not guilty to one count of racially aggravated assault.

According to the Mail Online, Ruth Alabaster, prosecuting, told the court yesterday:

The defendant pulled up her skirt and hit her on the bum. There is an allegation of pouring a drink over her head and pushing and shoving and earlier in the evening he called her an ‘Australian slut.’ CCTV is to be relied upon in this matter. I’m sure this case will turn on that.

Main, who has represented England in rowing competitions, has also worked at Coutts & Co, the Queen’s bank. According to press reports he will appear at trial later this year.

(20/8/2016 Legal Cheek)

律師揭起人家的裙來打屁股, 想講不是非禮也不容易, 就算不揭裙, 在衣服外打屁股也可構成非禮, 除非女方不反對, 非禮意念靠推論來建立。這當然是事實裁斷的案件, 被告多數會否認有這樣做過, 或者承認有這樣做但女方是同意的, 或者被告誤以為女方同意的 (mistaken belief of consent), 譬如之前已有肢體的親暱接觸, 又或者以英國的社會價值標準揭裙打屁股是可接受的舉動。如果當時被告喝醉了就不是抗辯的理由。

第二項控罪「種族性質的襲擊」罪(racially aggravated assault), 違反

Crime and Disorder Act 1998

29

[Racially or religiously aggravated] assaults.

(1)A person is guilty of an offence under this section if he commits—

......

(c) common assault,

which is [racially or religiously aggravated] for the purposes of this section. 

......

(3)A person guilty of an offence falling within subsection (1)(c) above shall be liable—

(a)on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or to both;

(b)on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to a fine, or to both.

講真, 有種族歧視元素的普通襲擊, 在裁判法院審理也不過最高可判監6個月, 比起香港沒有種族歧視元素的普通襲擊可判監1年還要低。而且, 這身為律師的被告似乎受到特殊對待, 沒有被拘捕落案, 而是以傳票檢控, 連保釋也不用。

第二項控罪也不難證明, 因為被告用了"Australian slut"這話來罵人, 包含了國藉, 也包含了敵意(hostility)(照頭淋啤酒加上罵蕩婦, 清楚顯示了敵意)。在香港沒有racially aggravated assault的刑事罪行, 只有種族岐視產生嚴重中傷的罪行(racial vilification)的刑事法(法例第602章《種族歧視條例》), 檢控門檻甚高, 要煽動種族仇恨、嚴重的鄙視或強烈的嘲諷, 才構成犯法。印象中也未見有檢控過。