Top director cleared of sex assault allegation
Mr Fingleton A Bafta-nominated director has been cleared of sexually assaulting an actress in her flat.
Stephen Fingleton, 35, wept as he was found not guilty of attacking the woman in West London on October 27, 2017.
The 35-year-old looked at the jury and said “thankyou” as the verdict was delivered.
The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had claimed the director pulled her head towards his crotch as she hung washing.
A jury of six men and six women at Isleworth Crown Court found Mr Fingleton, of Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, not guilty of one count of sexual assault after deliberating for eight hours and six minutes.
The trial previously heard allegations the woman had made up an “untrue Harvey Weinsteintype allegation”.
The pair had arranged the lunch after exchanging numbers at an event.
Mr Fingleton’s barrister Orla Daly told the trial the woman lied about the attack after becoming upset that he did not like a film she made.
He said the allegation came at a time when he was “on the point of becoming successful” but caused him to lose his attachment to an American film. Clothes from Co Louth raid Map shows hot air blowing across Ireland IRELAND will be hotter than Barcelona and Milan this weekend as temperatures soar.
Met Eireann is predicting “very mild” conditions with highs of 15C expected tomorrow, accompanied by sunshine and largely dry spells. It predicts temperatures will hit just 13C in Barcelona across the weekend, while it will rise to a mere 11C in Milan.
While the best of the weather here will be on Friday, forecasters said it will continue to hot up throughout the week, starting from tomorrow. A Met Eireann spokesperson said: “Thursday will be mild, breezy and largely dry with a fair amount of cloud.
“Highest temperatures of 11C to 14C with fresh to strong southerly breezes.
“Very mild for February tomorrow with highest temperatures of 12C to 15C in moderate to fresh winds.”
What temperatures could reach in parts of the country tomorrow