Found guilty of racist abues and sexual assault in Putney boat club


London Rowing Club - the scene of sexual assault

Former rowing captain Alistair Main has been found guilty of sexual assault and racial abuse in the London Rowing Club boathouse in Putney. The offence too place back in December 2015.


image - Linkedin

35-year-old Main, poured beer over a woman’s head and called her an 'Aussie slut' when she rejected his advances. Main, who is married and a City lawyer pleaded not guilty at Wimbledon Magistrates' Court and said that he was '7/10ths drunk' and merely being 'flirtatious' at the London Rowing Club’s 2015 Christmas dinner.

Main, who retired from competitive rowing in 2006, having rowed for Nottingham University, Britannia Boat Club and England in 2003, told the court that he poured the beer over her because: 'I did not know what else to do, I was really upset.'

The victim, who gave evidence from behind a screen, told the court that Main then followed her to the ladies toilet where he lifted up her skirt and repeatedly slapped her thighs. Later he waited for her to leave and gave her 'a slap on the bum'.

Eyewitnesses described Main shouting 'you Aussie slut, you Aussie whore' as she walked away.

District Judge Barbara Barnes, said he had been determined to control the woman and that Main 'had not been a credible or convincing witness'.

The judge praised his previous good character but warned that ‘all options remain open’. The offences that Mr Main has been convicted of do raise the possibility of him being imprisoned when the judge gives a sentencing decision on 26 January.

January 6, 2017