Charlie Elphicke and wife Natalie Elphicke
A former Conservative Member of Parliament has been convicted of sexually assaulting two women.
Charlie Elphicke, 49 was found guilty of three counts of sexual assault on Today (July 30) after a trial at Southwark Crown Court which started on Monday, 6 July.
He is due to be sentenced at the same court on Tuesday, 15 September.
The charges related to two female victims. In both cases, Elphicke made unwanted sexual advances towards the women, both of whom he knew and sexually touched them.
One of the charges relates to the first victim, who was sexually assaulted by Elphicke at a residential address in Westminster in June 2007 when she was in her 30s. She contacted police about the incident in November 2017.
The other two charges relate to two separate incidents involving the second victim, a woman in her 20s.
During the first incident in April 2016, he kissed the woman and sexually touched her without her consent. The following month, he touched her inappropriately despite being told to stop.
Elphicke was interviewed under caution in March 2018, and gave his accounts of what happened on each occasion, denying any wrongdoing. He was charged on 22 July 2019.
Detective Sergeant Michael McInerney of the Met’s Complex Case team, part of Central Specialist Crime, said: “These were alarming, distressing incidents for both women and I would like to acknowledge their courage in reporting the incidents and co-operating with the police investigation.
“Elphicke was persistent in his sexual advances and showed a lack of self-restraint and regard for the women, whose emotional wellbeing and professional lives were affected by what happened.
“Victims of non-recent sexual offences should not be deterred from reporting what happened to them to police. Specially trained investigators will investigate the claims and seek prosecutions where possible, whilst providing all the necessary support for victims.”
His wife, Natalie Elphicke, who was not in the courtroom when the verdicts were returned, wrote in an emotional tweet that the decision had brought “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,” she said.