Ex-Tory MP Charlie Elphicke guilty of sexual assault
Former Conservative MP Charlie Elphicke (Credit: PA)
2 min read
Former Conservative MP Charlie Elphicke has been found guilty of three counts of sexual assault.
The 49-year-old former MP for Dover had faced one charge relating to an incident with a woman in her 30s at his home dating back to 2007, and two charges relating to a parliamentary aide in her early 20s from 2016.
The jury at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday handed down a unanimous verdict of guilty on all three counts.
Mr Elphicke will be sentenced on September 15, with the judge telling the court: "All options remain very much on the table, including the possibility of an immediate custodial sentence."
The court heard that Mr Elphicke allegedly attempted to kiss and grope a parliamentary staffer after a drink in Westminster in 2016, and and that he had later slid his hand up her thigh towards her groin.
In the 2007 incident, Mr Elphicke was alleged to have kissed and groped a woman at his London home. She told the court he had then chased her around his home chanting: “I’m a naughty Tory.”
The former MP denied all charges.
He has been accompanied in court by his wife Natalie, who succeeded him as the MP for Dover at last year’s election.
But following the verdict she posted on Twitter that it "ends my 25 year marriage".
Mrs Elphicke wrote: "Today’s verdict is one that brings profound sorrow. It ends my 25 year marriage to the only man I have ever loved.
"I would ask for some personal space and time to come to terms with the shocking events of the last 3 years. I will not be commenting further."
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