Paralympic champ ‘asked masseuse if she “did extras” and pointed towards crotch at 5-star hotel spa’
A PARALYMPIC champion allegedly asked a masseuse if she “did extras” and pointed towards his crotch while at a five-star hotel spa. Lord Christopher Holmes, 48, allegedly asked the woman at the hotel spa in Central London on March 7 last year, a court heard. Holmes, who is visually impaired and a life peer in […]
A PARALYMPIC champion allegedly asked a masseuse if she “did extras” and pointed towards his crotch while at a five-star hotel spa.
Lord Christopher Holmes, 48, allegedly asked the woman at the hotel spa in Central London on March 7 last year, a court heard.
Holmes, who is visually impaired and a life peer in the House of Lords, is Britain’s most successful Paralympic swimmer with 15 medals.
At London’s Southwark Crown Court today, Prosecutor Linda Strudwick told jurors that Holmes “asked the masseuse if she ‘did extras’ and pointed towards his crotch, she said ‘No, I am a professional'”.
“He said ‘are you sure you’ve never done it?’,” Ms Strudwick said.
Holmes was joined in the dock by his assistance dog, a black Labrador named Nancy, and denies one charge of sexual assault.
Ms Strudwick told jurors that Holmes had booked a one-and-a-half hour spa massage at the hotel
“Towards the end of the massage, Lord Holmes grabbed [the complainant’s] arm. He sat up on the table where the massage was taking place,” Ms Strudwick said.
‘CAN I SEE HOW YOU LOOK?’
“He asked how old she was. Then he asked her ‘can I see how you look?’
“[She] was unsure about what he meant but assumed that it meant could he touch her face.
“She allowed him to do this, but then feeling embarrassed and uncomfortable at that point she began to move away.
“Mr Holmes stopped her by grabbing her buttocks. He said ‘nice’ and he asked if he could touch her boobs. She said ‘no’.”
Ms Strudwick said Holmes then “made shushing noises to her and apologised” after realising he had “gone too far”.
Holmes then “calmed down” the shocked woman, who finished the massage and wordlessly handed him a robe, the court heard.
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The distressed woman went straight to her manager and also told her work agency and boyfriend, jurors heard.
Following his retirement from professional swimming Holmes was elevated to the House of Lords in 2015.
Holmes denies one count of sexual assault. The trial continues.
