An ex-Conservative lawmaker who allegedly told one of his victims “I’m a naughty Tory” has been found guilty on three counts of sexual assault. The judge warned the former MP that he now faces the “real possibility” of jail.
Charlie Elphicke, the former MP for Dover, revealed during the trial at Southwark Crown Court in London that he had wanted an affair with one of his victims – a UK parliamentary worker – but he had denied committing any offences.
The 49-year-old faced charges relating to two women – one in her early 30s who he assaulted at his home in 2007, and a UK parliamentary staffer in her early 20s who he said was “besotted” with in 2016.
But he has now been warned there is a “real possibility” of imprisonment. In court on Thursday, Judge Mrs Justice Whipple warned Elphicke that he faces the prospect of jail time. The now-disgraced former Tory MP has been released on bail and will be sentenced in September, with the judge adding that: “All (sentencing) options remain open.”
The father-of-two had allegedly tried to kiss and grope the young parliamentary employee after the pair shared a drink in Westminster in April 2016. The complainant said that, after the offence took place, Elphicke had told her: “I’m so naughty sometimes.”
The other victim, who was in her 30s at the time, was invited by Elphicke to share a bottle of wine at his home while his wife Natalie was away (on business) for the first time since giving birth to their son. The MP enquired about his guest’s sexual interests and implied he was into “bondage and whips” before groping her breasts and trying to kiss her, jurors were told.
The prosecutor had described to jurors how, when the woman had rejected his advances, Elphicke then chased her around the kitchen in a scene likened to “a sketch from ‘The Benny Hill Show’.”
He was chanting in a sing-song way: ‘I’m a naughty Tory, I’m a naughty Tory,’ as though it was the school playground. He was very animated, excitable, and clearly enjoying himself, chanting towards her and slapping her bottom.
Following the judgment, Natalie Elphicke – who succeeded her husband as Dover MP last year – took to Twitter to say that the verdict brought “profound sorrow” that signaled the end of “my 25 year marriage to the only man I have ever loved.”
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