London, Dec 4 (ANI): A director of criminal investigations for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs has been accused of touching and groping women during his commute on crowded trains.
A court was told Nicholas Shaw, 55, who describes himself as "blissfully" married for 30 years, allegedly put his hand on their legs or rubbed their buttocks as they were forced close together during the journey.
The jury heard he "made it his business" to get close to the passengers, "invading their personal space" on the daily journey from his home in the village of Broadbottom, on the outskirts of Manchester.
Shaw has been accused of sexually assaulting five women commuters and has been suspended from his job.
But he has denied the claims, which emerged after police circulated his photograph as a suspect in the alleged incidents.
Manchester Crown Court heard one victim was sexually assaulted twice between February and March 2009 when Shaw sat beside her.
He held a book in one hand and touched her leg with the other, apologising when she looked at him, but failed to remove his hand, and she "doubting herself" did not report the incidents to police at the time.
"The prosecution allege that what occurred was undoubtedly intentional and that the touching that occurred was sexual," the Daily Mail quoted Christine Egerton, prosecuting, as saying.
She said the prosecution accepted the alleged touching "is more at the minor end of the scale of seriousness when looked at in isolation".
"However, the prosecution's case is that due to the number of incidents and the nature of the touching that you will be considering taken as a whole, that Mr Shaw was a man who made it his business to take advantage of crowded situations on trains and that he deliberately targeted the women involved," she added.
Giving evidence, Shaw said he is 100 percent sure that he didn't assault any women.
"What concerns me is that I may have made one or more of these women uncomfortable without knowing it, and that churns my stomach frankly. It's against what I believe in," he stated.
The trial continues. (ANI)
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