Verger ‘groped woman’s breasts’ in Wakefield Cathedral

Nicholas Whitaker, 34, is alleged to have approached the woman from behind, placed his arms around her and fondled her bust as she stood talking to the head verger in the cathedral.

Leeds Crown Court heard the alleged victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was fondled for between 30 seconds and a minute as head verger Julie Lovell looked on.

The jury was told the woman had recently been ill and had put on some weight and was talking to Ms Lovell, who referred to her as “sugar boobs”.

She told the jury Whitaker, who was a part-time verger and who sung in the choir, approached from behind like a “shadow”.

“He put his arms underneath my arms and just grabbed hold of my bust and groped and felt and squeezed. It was awful,” she said.

She said she remembered him saying “something about my bust” as he carried out the alleged assault last July.

“He just stopped doing it and went off ... I just felt sick, really sick,” she told the court.

“I just went straight to the toilet and stood there in disbelief. I gathered my thoughts, I just couldn’t believe what had happened,” she added.

The woman later reported the incident to the police and Whitaker, of Richmond Road, St John’s, Wakefield, was charged with sexual assault.

He denies the charge.

In cross examination, Charlotte Worsley, for Whitaker, said her client was gay and denied intentionally touching the woman’s breasts.

“If he did touch your breasts it was not deliberate,” she put it to the complainant.

She described the incident as a “clumsy, rather awkward hug”.

She added: “It may well be his hands went in the wrong place but you wholly overreacted to what was meant to be fun.”

Prosecuting, Tony Kelbrick said: “He came up behind her and put his arms around her and felt her breasts.

“What she says was he put his arms around her and using both hands cupped her breasts and squeezed them for a period of time. That was what was witnessed by Julie Lovell.

“The prosecution say this was a sexual assault. The crown say this woman did not consent to this.”

The trial was adjourned until tomorrow.