PC laughed after alleged sex assault, trial told

A police firearms officer sexually assaulted a woman moments after grabbing his crotch and making suggestive comments to her, a jury has been told.

Lee Meadows was said to have put his arms around the woman and "thrust" himself against her as she walked ahead of him on 25 September 2020, Bradford Crown Court heard.

Mr Meadows, 45, worked for North Yorkshire Police at the time of the incident but later left the force. He denies a single charge of sexual assault.

His trial, which began on Monday, heard the defendant called the accusation "malicious" during a police interview, after his arrest in December 2021.

Opening the case for the prosecution, Deborah Smithies said the officer had "winked" at the victim and "licked his lips" after grabbing his crotch and making suggestive remarks.

He was sat on a chair at the time with his legs spread apart, it was said.

Ms Smithies said: "The remarks were not just a bit of bad taste banter. They were designed to make her feel uncomfortable, in an old-fashioned display of dominance.

"They had their intended effect."

The incident left the woman "taken aback" and she said nothing in the immediate aftermath, Ms Smithies said.

The jury was told that moments later Mr Meadows sexually assaulted the woman in an attack lasting "a few seconds", before pushing her away with both hands as he "laughed".

The woman later had to pull over in her car to be sick after driving away from the scene of the incident, it was said.

The prosecutor said she was "visibly upset" when later recounting the events of the day to others.

Mr Meadows, of Doncaster, no longer works for the police.

After being arrested, he described the complaint as "false" and "malicious" in a pre-prepared statement, but answered "no comment" to questions thereafter.

The trial continues.

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