Judge in flashing case now facing two more accusers

12 April 2012

A senior judge cleared of exposing himself on a train could be questioned again by police after two more women claimed he flashed at them on the same line.

Sir Stephen Richards was found not guilty of two counts of indecent exposure last week by magistrates who accused police of failing to investigate the matter properly.

During the two-day trial the 56-year-old, who sits in the Court of Appeal as Lord Justice Richards, held up a pair of Calvin Klein briefs to demonstrate the type of underwear he usually wears.

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Cleared: Sir Stephen, pictured outside court with wife Lucy, maintained he had been wrongly identified

After his acquittal at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court, two women contacted British Transport Police to claim that he exposed himself to them separately on the same route.

The alleged incidents happened on a train between Raynes Park in South-West London and Waterloo.

One of the women, reportedly from New Zealand, approached police after coverage of the court case.

She flew home to New Zealand after the alleged incident and British Transport Police are taking her statement.

The other woman is thought to be a young British woman who works in the City.

Sir Stephen could be questioned by officers in the next few weeks.

The married father of three was cleared of allegations of exposing himself to a City worker in her twenties on two separate occasions in October last year.

He had been accused of boxing the woman into a corner of a carriage during her journey to work from Raynes Park to Waterloo before exposing himself.

The second time, the woman took photos of the man and followed him along Waterloo Bridge and towards the Strand but lost him as he was walking 'towards the Courts of Justice area'.

In December, she saw him again and in January she pointed out the man she believed to be the offender during an undercover police operation.

She later picked out Sir Stephen in a video ID parade but this evidence was dismissed because by this time she already knew the man arrested was a senior judge and had seen pictures of him.

Chief magistrate Timothy Workman commended the woman for giving 'clear, dignified and truthful' evidence.

But he said it was impossible to be sure Sir Stephen was the same man who exposed himself to her.

He criticised British Transport Police for failing to investigate the allegation promptly and thoroughly which meant there was no CCTV evidence to support the case.

Sir Stephen, who lives in Wimbledon, South-West London, with his wife of 31 years Lucy, always maintained he had been wrongly identified.

He said after the case: "Throughout this case I have put my trust in the legal profession and I am delighted that it has enabled me to clear my name.

"We now look forward to getting back to our normal life and in my case, getting back to my full judicial duties."

A spokesman for the British Transport Police said yesterday: "BTP can confirm we have received complaints of incidents of a similar nature on that line.

"BTP is currently investigating those alleged incidents. It would be inappropriate for BTP to comment further at this stage."

Sir Stephen was unavailable for comment at his home yesterday.

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