Batali denies sex assault claim

BOSTON — The celebrity chef Mario Batali stepped into a courtroom crowded with reporters Friday morning and entered a plea of not guilty to indecent assault and battery of a woman he met in a bar here two years ago.

The woman, who had long been a fan of Batali’s, told Boston police in June that what she intended as a selfie session with the chef in March 2017 turned into an assault when he grabbed her breasts, buttocks and groin, forcibly kissed her, and suggested they head to his nearby hotel. The woman is about 30 years younger than the chef, who is now 58.

If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison and be required to register as a sex offender.

The criminal complaint was filed last month and mirrored the narrative in a civil suit brought against Batali by the woman, Natali Tene, 29, in August. Three months before she sued, Tene told the food website Eater that she had been having dinner and drinks at Towne Stove and Spirits, a bar in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston that has since closed, when she spotted Batali and took a photograph of him with her phone.

He called her over, suggested they take a selfie, and then proceeded to grope and kiss her, according to her lawsuit and the criminal complaint. Tene is seeking monetary damages for emotional distress, anxiety and self-doubt she said she suffered because of the encounter. She was not in the courtroom Friday.