Gazza tears of joy as he is cleared
Footie legend not guilty of sex attack
PAUL Gascoigne bowed his head and wept after a jury found him not guilty of sexually assaulting a woman on a train.
His agent, Katie Davies, shouted “yes” at the verdict and the ex-England star walked from the dock to hug her.
The jury took less than three hours to decide there was no sexual motive when he planted a “sloppy” two to three-second kiss on a woman’s lips.
The passenger told him to “get off ”.
He also was cleared of common assault.
Gascoigne said he was trying to boost her confidence after someone called her “fat”.
He denied being drunk and claimed his voice was slurred because he did not have his dentures.
Prosecutor William Mousley QC had accused him of lying through his teeth, adding: “Whichever teeth they were.”
After being cleared Gascoigne, 52, thanked the judge, jury and “my dentist”.
His solicitor Imogen Cox read a statement outside court by him, saying: “To have a sexual allegation hanging over me for over 12 months has been so tough.
“I am so glad I was finally able to put over my side of the story and that the jury came to the correct verdict.”
He was travelling north from York in August last year when he grabbed the woman’s face and kissed her, Teesside crown court in Middlesbrough heard.
The former Rangers, Newcastle, Spurs, Everton and Middlesbrough star claimed he was trying to “protect” her from a jibe.
He said the insult had brought back memories of his battles with bulimia.
He said: “I went to sit next to her and said, ‘You are not fat, or ugly, you are beautiful’. I gave her a peck, that was it.”
After he was arrested he told British Transport Police: “I get kissed all the time, if that was the case, I’ve been sexually harassed for 20 years.”
Friends including Ricky Hatton described him as “tactile” and the jury was shown photos of him kissing Princess Diana and Wayne Rooney.
Richinda Taylor, of Eva Women’s Aid, said: “It sends an appalling and potentially dangerous message out.”
To have a sexual allegation hanging over me has been tough PAUL GASCOIGNE HIS STATEMENT ON VERDICT