JOHN LESLIE I’M NOT AN AGGRESSIVE SEXUAL MONSTER
» Star tells court sexual assault claim is ‘ludicrous’ » He ’spent night at the party with Jade Goody’ » He was suicidal after Ulrika rape allegation
FORMER TV presenter John Leslie has insisted he isn’t an “aggressive sexual monster” – and that assault charges are “ludicrous”.
He said rape claims left him suicidal.
JOHN Leslie insisted he was not an “aggressive sexual monster” – and claimed he spent most of a party where he is alleged to have groped a woman talking to late Big Brother star Jade Goody.
Leslie, 55, gave evidence at Southwark Crown Court yesterday. He faces a charge that he sexually assaulted a party-goer by squeezing her breasts at a celebrity party.
But the former Blue Peter star said the claims made against him were “ludicrous” due to him being careful after earlier sex assault allegations – which had left him suicidal.
The Edinburgh-born TV presenter said that during the Soho Christmas party in 2008, he spent a long time speaking to Jade, three months before she died of cervical cancer.
He said: “I never sexually assaulted anyone. It’s not in my nature.
“I’m a people person. I like life. I enjoy every day and wouldn’t do anything deliberately to hurt anyone.
“I’ve never done that. I wouldn’t do that. I’ve been brought up correctly. My mum and dad raised me right. I’ve been surrounded by women from 16.
“I’m a larger-than-life person. I’m quite gregarious and happy and if that’s been misinterpreted, then... I would never intentionally upset anyone. It’s not in my nature.
“I’m tactile, yes, I hug people, but not sexually. I’ve been called a big kid sometimes. I’m not an aggressive sexual monster the tabloids made me out to be. I’m a million miles from that.”
Asked about being named by TV presenter Matthew Wright as the rapist of Ulrika Jonsson and the effects on his behaviour, Leslie said: “I became reclusive and suicidal. I lost everything after that. There was no public, I wouldn’t go anywhere. I lost my financial income, I lost the house I built, I lost my life.
“I was going to take my life to stop this happening because I
wanted to protect my parents. I think they were suffering more than me. It was to stop what was going on.
“I got to the point of the tree and the rope and the park.
“I tried to turn myself around. I thought I’d get myself back on track and try and get my life back. I started going out and started to be social again. I had great friends and a lot of love. I wouldn’t be here today without that. “Every time I put my head above the parapet, they’d do some headline. It would bring all the past up again. I was paranoid. “When I did go out, I was just aware I would never go near women because of what had been said and people thought I was that type of character.” Speaking about the night in
December 2008, he said: “I don’t recall that particular party but I do remember talking to Jade Goody at length.
“She was very ill. I know she was rather upset about how the tabloids had been treating her. I think it was that year because I know she died not long after that.”
About the party, he said: “If I’d been going anywhere public, it would have been a quite a specialnight. There would be lots of other celebrities there, other presenters.”
He added: “I have no idea who [the alleged victim] is. There was no reason to speak to her or meet her. The idea I would do that is just crazy, especially the way I was and everything had been going on.
“I was paranoid. I was aware, conscious. To go up to a total stranger and just do that would be ludicrous and never would have happened. I can’t imagine why she thought it would’ve happened. I would’ve said, ‘Hello’, but not touched her and walked off. It’s not me. It never would have happened.”
Also giving evidence at the trial yesterday was another woman who claimed that Leslie sexually assaulted her on a previous occasion. The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, claimed Leslie had a history of inappropriate behaviour.
She said: “John Leslie hasn’t been unknown to touch people inappropriately. If someone at a party had squeezed your bottom, it was more than likely to be John Leslie.”
Gudrun Young, defending, asked:
“Are you saying that John Leslie squeezed your bottom?” The woman replied: “Yes he has, on occasion.”
The woman also said that she had referenced Leslie’s alleged behaviour in her witness statement about the case, but was not explicit about her own experiences.
She said: “I did not find it to be entirely surprising because I find him to be a tactile person who can be inappropriate.”
The witness also said she had a “strong recollection” of the event 12 years ago. She added: “There is no denying that she went up to him at a Christmas party to introduce herself and that is how he welcomed her.”
The court also heard from a pal of the alleged victim, who said that a friend of Leslie’s apologised for his behaviour at the party. The pal said: “This is the gist rather than the exact words, but she said like, ‘Sorry about John, he’s very excited to be here. It’s been a long time since he’s been to a party like this and sometimes he just gets excited and goes over the top’.”
The court yesterday heard agreed details on the background of the case, which included when Jonsson published an autobiography in which she described an experience when she was allegedly raped by a man in 1988.
Prosecutor Jocelyn Ledward said: “In July 2003, John Leslie was charged with two offences of indecent assault of the same woman said to have taken place on the same night in May 1997.
“On July 31, 2003, at a hearing at Southwark Crown Court before the matter proceeded to trial , the prosecution offered no evidence in relation to both charges. Not guilty verdicts were formally recorded.”
Leslie, who was supported in court by his father, Les Stott, denies sexual assault. The trial will continue today.
If someone at a party squeezed your bottom,it was more than likely to be John Leslie WOMAN IN COURT MAKES CLAIMS ABOUT PREVIOUS BEHAVIOUR