BOSTON –
Mario Batali’s trial for sexual misconduct began in Boston court on Monday, with his prosecutor telling how she was “shocked, surprised and worried” when the famous chef aggressively kissed and touched her while taking a selfie at a restaurant in 2017. .
A 32-year-old employee of a software company in the Boston area said she felt confused and powerless to do anything to stop Batali.
“Everything was happening so fast and it was happening essentially all the time,” the woman testified in the trial, which resumed Tuesday at Boston City Court. “Just a lot of touch.”
She said she felt uncomfortable until she saw other women step forward to share similar meetings with Batali.
“This has happened to me and this is my life,” the woman said when prosecutors asked why she had come out. “I want to be able to take control of what happened, to have my say and for everyone to take responsibility for their actions.
But Batali’s lawyer, Anthony Fuller, tried to discredit her by arguing that the attack never happened.
He said the prosecutor had a financial incentive to lie because she was seeking more than $ 50,000 in damages from Batali in a separate civil lawsuit pending in Suffolk County Supreme Court in Boston.
“She’s not right,” Fuller said. “It’s made up for money and fun.”
During cross-examination, he presented financial statements showing the woman ate at Eataly, the Italian market, Batali once owned a stake, weeks after the meeting, and continued to patronize the Boston bar where the alleged attack took place.
“Are you going to the restaurant of the person you claim to have brutally attacked you?” He said. “That doesn’t make sense.”
The woman said she did not remember going to Eataly and said she was not talking about financial gain. She also rebuffed Fuller for questioning why none of the many photos taken with Batali tonight showed the alleged attack.
The woman said all the photos were taken relatively closely and did not show Batali, who she said was visibly drunk, grabbed her privacy, touched her face and even stuck his tongue in her ear. She said he also invited her to the hotel her room after what she refused.
“I’ve never been touched like that before,” the woman said. “Squeezing my vagina to pull me closer to him, like it’s a normal way to catch someone.”
But Fuller argues that the prosecutor is not a credible witness. He refined her recent admission that she had tried to avoid the jury service by claiming to be clairvoyant. She was also charged in this case with violating the judge’s orders to keep open and not discuss the case with others. In court on Monday, however, she said she could anticipate major events before they happen “to some extent”.
The trial began on Monday after Batali – in a surprising move – waived his right to a trial and instead chose a judge to decide his fate.
Batali, who pleaded not guilty to indecent assault and beating in 2019, could face up to 2 1/2 years in prison and be required to register as a sex offender if convicted.
Batali is among a number of high-ranking men who have faced public scrutiny during the #MeToo social movement against sexual violence and harassment in recent years.
The 61-year-old was once part of the Food Network on shows such as Molto Mario and Iron Chef America. But the ambitious career of the man with the ponytail and orange wearing a crocodile fell apart amid allegations of sexual abuse.
Four women accused him of inappropriate touching in 2017, after which he retired from daily operations in his restaurant empire and left after the discontinued ABC cooking show “The Chew”.
Batali apologized, admitting that the accusations “coincided” with the way he acted.
“I made a lot of mistakes,” he said in an email newsletter at the time. “My behavior was wrong and there are no excuses. I take full responsibility. “
Last year, Batali, his business partner and their New York restaurant company agreed to pay $ 600,000 to allow a four-year investigation by the New York Attorney General’s office into allegations that Batali and other employees sexually harassed employees.
In Boston, he opened the center of Eataly and Babbo Pizzeria e Enoteca in the port area of the city. Since then, Batali has been bought out of his stake in Eataly and the Babbo restaurant has been closed.
Add Comment