The 31 year-old Account Director was entertaining clients at Forge, in the heart of the Square Mile, and after shrugging off the first grope was grabbed again hours later on the crowded dance floor, the court heard.
Algerian Nabil Zerdi, 51, of Jersey Road, Isleworth has pleaded not guilty to two counts of sexually assaulting the woman at the Cornhill venue on December 19 and 20, 2019.
“I got brushed past by some man who decided to touch me where he should not have,” she told Inner London Crown Court.
“He reached under and cupped his hand and grabbed me.
“He stared at me and I stared at him and pointed at him and said: ’No’ and he casually walked off.”
Because she was entertaining important company clients the woman kept her composure and did not report the man.
“I had a duty to my clients to try and continue the night,” she told the court, but said the same man repeated his behaviour in the early hours.
The jury were shown CCTV of the second incident and the woman, wearing a sequinned dress, was approached by Zerdi, who had been loitering around the edge of the dance floor.
“I felt the same hand again, more forceful, more pressured and there he was again,” she explained from behind a screen.
“I felt someone come towards me and cup me again over my dress. The same guy who did it the first time was standing there.
“I am one hundred per cent sure it was the same man.
“The look that he gave me, I’ll never forget and I did not want him to get away with it again or worse, do it to someone else.
“I grabbed his arm and said: ‘Don’t touch me like that again,’ and I went for help.”
Prosecutor Richard Job told the jury the complainant spoke to staff after the second incident and Zerdi was detained until the police arrived.
“When he was questioned the defendant denied the first incident, but said the second incident was just his attempt to squeeze past and there was no sexual intention.”
The trial continues………….
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