(Reuters) – Danish golfer Thorbjorn Olesen has been cleared of sexual assault, assault by beating and being drunk on a British Airways flight in 2019, a court docket mentioned on Wednesday.
Olesen, a five-times European Tour winner and a member of Europe’s victorious Ryder Cup crew in 2018, had denied the fees throughout a three-day trial in a London Court.
The 31-year-old blamed his behaviour on sleeping drugs, saying he become an “automaton” and was not in management of his physique after taking the prescription-only tablets purchased on a “dodgy web site” by his accomplice Lauren Zafer.
The court docket heard that Olesen grabbed a girl’s breast and urinated on a first-class seat after taking alcohol and sleeping drugs on the July 29 flight from Nashville to London’s Heathrow airport.
Olesen was on the eight-hour flight after competing within the World Golf Championships-FedEx St Jude invitational in Memphis.
“I’m embarrassed and ashamed by the account of my actions that was outlined in the course of the trial,” the BBC quoted Olesen as saying.
“I’ve paid a really heavy value for my mistake. This case has had a devastating impression on me personally, on my household, and on my profession.”
(Reporting by Manasi Pathak in Bengaluru, enhancing by Ed Osmond)
