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News

Commuter who walked past actress at Waterloo station cleared of 'bizarre' sex assault claim

193 replies

LurkingHusband · 08/02/2016 12:02

www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/commuter-who-walked-past-actress-at-waterloo-station-cleared-of-bizarre-sex-assault-claim/ar-BBpcZ5y

A commuter has been cleared of sexually assaulting a well-known actress after a jury rejected claims the crime could have taken place in a brief half-second contact in a busy railway station.

Mark Pearson, a 51-year-old artist and picture framer, was accused of brushing against the actress, who cannot be named for legal reasons, in a mass of train passengers at London’s Waterloo station.

CCTV footage showed Mr Pearson, who was a complete stranger to the alleged victim, did not break his stride as he walked past the woman, who was heading to a rehearsal.

(contd)

Not really much to say . I'm pleased the CPS will "respect the juries decision". The fact they had to state that implies there have been or will be times when they don't accept the juries decision.

OP posts:

Report

oldzebra · 09/02/2016 18:07

Lurking: your comment re it not really to do with the complainant is exactly how Mark Pearson addressed it on "This Morning" on Monday - said he blames the CPS. He said he did have a choice though about going public (which is a surprise and doesn't tie in with other similar, I think?); however he decided to go public as he was worried that other people could be in a similar situation.

laflaca · 09/02/2016 18:23

DrSeussRevived: you can't know that Mark Pearson's life has not been completely ruined, and your calling it an unpleasant experience minimizes his plight.
You don't know to what extent his emotional health has suffered, or how he now views life. Then there are the legal fees, which must be staggeringly high.

DrSeussRevived · 09/02/2016 18:30

No, I can't - it's my opinion, just as yours clearly is that it has been.

Ruined is a very strong word though.

DrSeussRevived · 09/02/2016 18:33

It has to be part of the justice system that some defendants are found not guilty. IIRC it's something like 30-40%, depending on the charges. That's a lot of not guilty defendants.

If all of those have their lives "ruined", how can we operate a legal system?

DrSeussRevived · 09/02/2016 18:34

I do agree that the actions of the CPS should be questioned here to ensure they acted within their own guidelines.

laflaca · 09/02/2016 18:36

DrSeussRevived: I don't know if his life has been ruined or not, so you are incorrect to assume that I clearly think it has.

DrSeussRevived · 09/02/2016 18:40

Apologies, it was evilcherub who said that.

DrSeussRevived · 09/02/2016 18:42

Oldzebra, by going public maybe he meant doing press interviews and things?

Namechange02 · 09/02/2016 19:08

There is something very bizarre about this case and one wonders if it was because the complainant was famous. I imagine if I went to the police and said I'd been raped and then the CCTV footage was so clear-cut I'd be at best laughed out of the police station and at worst charged with wasting police time.

DrSeussRevived · 09/02/2016 19:36

Not sure if it's because she's famous (I don't know who it is) but a well off, measured 60-something lady (which I think she is) may well come across as a more credible witness than some others, which is sad for those in other brackets.

BYOSnowman · 09/02/2016 19:38

being an actress I'm sure she would be very convincing

Chipstick10 · 09/02/2016 21:30

I pride myself on knowing crap stuff. Like when I play trivial pursuit I always pick entertainment. I know whose married to whom. Who is the sister of and in which film did so and so win an Oscar ? But I swear to lucifer I haven't a scooby who this actress is. I've never seen her or heard of her.

MrsJorahMormont · 09/02/2016 21:41

I had never heard of her either. And this whole case was ridiculous. It's upsetting that MRA loons are rubbing their hands in glee over this.

AnthonyPandy · 09/02/2016 22:25

All the people saying it only came to court because she is well known, award winning and well connected, so many of us have never heard of her. I had, but only for what I consider to be a 'niche' role she plays. Some actresses everyone really does know, and some you only know if you watched that programme and are a fan. And what awards? I can't find any.

firesidechat · 10/02/2016 08:40

Is the identity certain now?

AcrossthePond55 · 10/02/2016 14:30

fireside There is a name 'out there', but no official confirmation, so I'd say it's not 'certain', iyswim.

DiscordiaVanDiemen · 10/02/2016 14:50

I've only seen one name mentioned (on Twitter mostly; by people not in the UK, as it's illegal to do so here) I assume it will only be confirmed officially if she is charged with something? She's by no means a household name, so anyone trying to guess would be put off the scent by her being referred to as "well-known"

var123 · 10/02/2016 15:32

I've seen a name on twitter when reading the comments on his name with the hashtag.

Famous?! That's a stretch isn't it? I can honestly say I've never heard of her.

By the sounds of it, this woman has done no favours at all to women who have genuine grievances.

DrSeussRevived · 10/02/2016 16:56

"By the sounds of it, this woman has done no favours at all to women who have genuine grievances."

Would you say that a man who claimed he got punched in a pub to make trouble for the person he claimed punched him had done "no favours" to men?

Samcro · 10/02/2016 17:06

i would say the same if they had made it up.

DrSeussRevived · 10/02/2016 17:23

Would you? Then you're quite unusual. I haven't seen the meme about one man's actions impacting on all men ever; the "gives women a bad name" theme is much more common though. Almost as if men are more human and have more right to be judged as individuals...

var123 · 10/02/2016 17:28

I'd say it to a man who had his arm brushed against in a crowded pub. Punched is punched and that's different.

var123 · 10/02/2016 17:37

It doesn't give women a bad name. False claims makes other women less likely to be believed when it really has happened to them and there were no witnesses.
When you are already a victim of a crime, what you don't need is to face an uphill battle to get people to believe you.

DrSeussRevived · 10/02/2016 18:04

But why does one woman's false claim impact on another woman when one man's false claim doesn't impact on another man.

var123 · 10/02/2016 18:22

Who said one man's false claim doesn't impact on another's?

If a man claims he was punched, the policeman will tend to believe him and investigate. If a month later 1000 people have all made false claims about being blamed to that policeman and the policeman subsequently found out that they were all false. Then when the 1001st person arrives to make a similar claim, (s)he is going to be subjected to a degree of scepticism which (s)he could do without if he is a genuine victim.

The harm done to future genuine victims by those who bring an untrue and malicious claim is not a gender issue. However, women or men who have really been sexually assaulted could do without people like this actress helping to develop an environment where victims are not believed.

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