[A] WOMAN has told a jury how she was groped by a “complete stranger” inside a crowded Kendal bar.
Giving evidence today (THURS) at Carlisle Crown Court, the female said she and a friend went to Smokeys bar on the night of April 28 last year. She was sober due to taking medication.
The bar, she said, was “very crowded” with lots of people around. But while at the bar she said a person approached from behind. “He came up behind me – quite close behind me – and put his hand between my legs.”
She described how the illegal contact by the “complete stranger” lasted for “maybe 10 to 15 seconds” and left her “absolutely stunned”. The woman grabbed the fingers of the man, who “recoiled” and walked away but was detained by a bouncer soon after.
During an identification procedure, the woman picked out 36-year-old Lukasz Bala as the man responsible. However, he told police he did not intentionally touch anyone in the bar.
Bala, of Greengate, Kendal, denies an alleged sexual assault. A trial, which is being held in the defendant’s absence, continues.
