Ex-Conservative councillor sent photo to woman 'in his boxer shorts'

Lee Hawthorne served as a Conservative councillor for four years until April 2020

A former Conservative councillor accused of sexually assaulting a woman "sent her a photo of himself in his boxer shorts", a court has heard.

Lee Hawthorne, 44, appeared at Cirencester Courthouse on Tuesday accused of two charges of sexually assaulting a woman on at least four occasions between 31 December 2018 and 1 June 2019. He denies both charges.

The woman, whose identity has been protected, alleges she was groped by Hawthorne and "felt helpless".

At the start of the trial, the jury heard Hawthorne has a past criminal conviction for offences of 'upskirting' in 2021. He had secretly taken a video under a woman's clothing in an office and had also committed a similar voyeurism offence against a woman shopping in TK Maxx.

Hawthorne, of Filbert Close in Gloucester, served as a Gloucester City councillor for four years up until April 2020.

'I feel ashamed'

Prosecutor Alistair Haggerty told the jury Hawthorne's alleged victim was a woman in her early 20s when she first met him in 2014.

He had from the start behaved in an increasingly inappropriate way and his behaviour escalated from comments to "harassment and then to physical touching", Mr Haggerty said.

One one occasion Hawthorne allegedly asked the woman for photos of herself and after she "sent a photo of the floor", he sent photos of himself such as selfies of his face and "one lying on his bed in his boxer shorts".

Hawthorne, Mr Haggerty said, allegedly sat next to the woman and moved his fingers up her thigh to her crotch area on "five to 10 occasions" between 2018 and 2019.

The woman told the court: “I felt helpess, I couldn't say anything. I felt ashamed because my boyfriend didn't know. You felt like you were cheating on him. Horrible.”

When she told Hawthorne that he had "crossed a line and wanted him to stop", he allegedly replied saying he "thought she enjoyed it". She claims that he continued his behaviour afterwards.

'Mutual attraction'

The woman told two other people who knew Hawthorne about his behaviour, and in 2021 Hawthorne was interviewed by the police.

He claimed to the police that there had been a "mutual attraction" between him and the woman.

He accepted that the woman had texted him telling him his touching had to stop but he thought this was because she felt guilty about effectively cheating on her boyfriend.

Referring to the jury of Hawthorne's upskirting conviction, he said: "He pleaded guilty to both those offences and we say that is pertinent in this case.

"They are indicative of a man who has no regard for boundaries and is prone to inappropriate sexual behaviour and shows a great deal of indifference to the question of consent.

"He claimed in interview that he believed she had consented and he believed throughout the time that he was touching her that she was consenting."

The trial continues on Wednesday.