Brett Stewart says he didn’t indecently assault a teenager. He says she tried to kiss him, and that she’s making up these allegations because he rejected her come-on. (Hmm, where have I heard that before?)
The linked article was the first I’d read about this case, and my first thought was “pity his girlfriend was in the kitchen; if she’d been with him maybe none of this would have happened.” Which is not to say that I think Stewart committed the assaults – I don’t know; let’s wait until the jury tells us what they think.
But whatever the jury finds, whatever happened probably wouldn’t have happened had Jamie Baker, Stewart’s girlfriend, been present rather than in the kitchen. That’s because either: (a) if he did assault the teenager: presumably he would not have done so had Baker been present; or (b) if he did not assault the teenager: presumably the teenager’s allegations would not have stood up had Baker been present at the time of the alleged offences.
The take-home message, then, is: men, don’t go out alone. You might be accused of, and/or commit, indecent assault, sexual assault, rape or other sexual violence.
This post was inspired by this post and this one over at blue milk.