City worker Jamie Atkins sexually assaulted woman in a bar
CENTRAL NEWS Father-of-two Atkins told the jury he punched the stranger in self defence
The victim was chatting to a companion when Jamie Atkins “came out of nowhere” and groped her between the legs. She was left “cold” for a moment before she slapped him hard across the face, a court heard. Commodities trader Atkins then turned on a man who came to the woman’s aid. With a single punch, he knocked him unconscious, London’s Southwark Crown Court. Atkins, 39, claimed he had only tapped the woman on the hip so he could chat and flirt with her.
CENTRAL NEWS Atkins denied sexual assault and assault by beating last September
He lashed out at the fellow drinker because he feared he was about to be attacked, he told the court. Jurors found him guilty and he is likely to be jailed when he was sentenced next month. Recorder Vanessa Francis released him on bail. The incident happened at The Botanist - a favourite venue for financial workers in the City of London. The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the jury she was waiting to buy a round of drinks and chatting to a companion when Atkins assaulted her. She was wearing a black dress with a slit in it and Atkins suddenly plunged his hand between her legs.
CENTRAL NEWS The incident happened at The Botanist - a favourite venue for financial workers in the City
Outraged, she slapped his face to stop him and alert bar staff, she told the jury.
I thought he was going to hit me so I got one in first Jamie Atkins
She said: “My attention was on the barman and as he moved away I was aware of the smaller man intervening and speaking to the defendant but I couldn’t hear what was going on." “Then I heard a large thud and the man was out cold on the ground.” She dismissed Atkins’s claim that he had touched her hip. She said: “The difference between your hip, which you would have to grab with the palm of your hand compared to fingers pressed on the most intimate part of your body, is just completely different and that is what I felt on that night. Father-of-two Atkins told the jury he punched the stranger in self defence. He said: “Before I know it, this guy approached and I thought he was going to hit me so I got one in first."