Vicar denies groping man, 20, on night flight to US

A DRUNKEN vicar groped a 20-yearold man on an overnight transatlantic flight, a court heard.

The Rev Peter Mcconnell, 63, is accused of sexually assaulting the young man, a student, as he slept on a British Airways plane from Philadelphia to Heathrow in March last year.

Newcastle Crown Court heard that Mcconnell, from Longhorsley, Northumberland, had been drinking wine before he engaged in conversation with the student.

He allegedly went on to make “odd” remarks, and talked about God and teaching children.

Andrew Espley, prosecuting, said that the man fell asleep towards the end of the journey, awaking to find Mcconnell groping him under a blanket.

Mr Espley added that the vicar asked the young man: “Is that not all right?”

Mcconnell, the vicar of St Helen’s Church in Longhorsley, then allegedly blamed his actions on the alcohol he had drunk and “asked for forgiveness”.

Giving evidence via video link from his parents’ home in the US, the alleged victim said Mcconnell had asked him if he had been to a topless bar.

The student added: “He kept saying this weird question, ‘Are you mischievous?’ about four to six times. I thought that was a very inappropriate thing to say to another person.”

The court was also told that after revealing the incident to his mother, the student, who cannot be named, went to the airline and police.

Mcconnell denies a single charge of sexual assault. The trial continues.