British Judge Acquitted of Flashing Charge

[conlor]

A top British judge has been acquitted of charges he twice exposed himself to a woman on a South London commuter train in 2006.

A panel of three magistrates dismissed the case against Sir Stephen Richards, 56, due to insufficient evidence, The Times of London reported Wednesday.

Richards, who sits in the Court of Appeal and has presided over several high profile cases, had been charged under the Sexual Offenses Act with two counts of intentionally exposing his genitals intending that someone would see them and would be caused alarm or distress.

During the trial, Richards said he was astonished when police arrested him in January after a woman identified him as the very kind looking man who twice approached her on the train with his fly open, the newspaper said.
I am a happily married, family man and I cannot perceive deriving any form of gratification to exposing my *****, he told the court.

Richards' defense largely relied on his argument that, given the style of Calvin Klein underwear he favors, he would have been unable to expose himself in the manner his accuser described, the newspaper said.

British judge acquitted of flashing charge