Warning: Some readers may find the content of this article triggering and / or confusing.
Barry Sadlon, an 89-year-old Barry businessman, went to court with his lawyer to stand trial on Monday on charges of sexually assaulting a woman after a business meeting nearly three years ago.
The Sadlon family is well known in the Bari area. Paul Sadlon has owned car dealerships in Barry and Bradford for more than 50 years.
The car dealer was arrested a week before Christmas in 2019 for allegedly raping a woman whose identity is protected by a ban on publishing.
During her testimony, the woman told the court that Sadlon made an obscene remark during the meeting while placing his hand on her arm.
She claims that Sadlon’s vulgar remark suggests that he wants another woman “around the house to caress”.
She testified that after the meeting ended and they were alone in the room, he hugged her, kissed her on the cheek and tried to put his tongue in her mouth against her will.
As he hugged her, she said he pressed his pelvis against hers and began to moan. She told the court that he grabbed her chest and she said, “Paul, you can’t do this.”
She said he then moved his hand away, so she turned her body over and testified about Sadlon, then covered her other breast from behind.
The applicant told the court that she felt hurt and shocked by the interaction.
She said after the meeting that Sadlon did not say a word.
In court on Monday, Sadlon looked slow and fragile and remained silent throughout the proceedings.
At one point, during testimony, Sadlon, who turns 90 in November, began coughing uncontrollably. His family says he has a lung infection and needs to use a buffer.
During cross-examination, the defense hinted to the witness that Sadlon wanted to end their business relationship and claimed that his wife had said, “You will be sorry.”
She did not agree with the defense’s proposals.
Sadlon’s lawyer, Francesca Jaskiel, dismissed the woman’s allegations of sexual assault, saying: “I will suggest that absolutely nothing happened in this room.”
Once again, the applicant disagreed.
The crown expects to call at least four more witnesses during the three-day trial.
The allegations have not been proven in court.
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