Victim panicked after alleged assault, trial told

Lee Meadows is on trial at Bradford Crown Court

The victim of an alleged sex assault by a police firearms officer was left feeling "very panicked" by the incident, a jury has heard.

Lee Meadows was said to have put his arms around the woman and "thrust" himself against her as she walked ahead of him on 25 September 2020, Bradford Crown Court heard.

Mr Meadows, 45, from Doncaster, worked for North Yorkshire Police at the time of the incident but later left the force. He denies a single charge of sexual assault.

On Friday, a friend of the woman told the court she had confided in her a few months later and was "concerned" about speaking up.

She said: "She was anxious, upset and very panicked when she told me."

She also described how the victim told her that Mr Meadows had pushed his body on to her sexually from behind and whispered in her ear.

In a separate conversation, the woman told her Mr Meadows had grabbed his crotch and made suggestive remarks, which the victim had found offensive.

The friend told the trial that the alleged incident had turned the woman from a "positive, bubbly person who would generate conversation" into a more introverted person.

A second friend also told the jury on Friday that the victim got "visibly upset" when she told her about the incident and had felt reluctant to bring it up.

Mr Meadows no longer works for the police.

After being arrested, he described the complaint as "false" and "malicious" in a pre-prepared statement, but answered "no comment" to questions thereafter.

The trial continues.

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