Footballer 'groped woman who was locked out of her flat'

Updated

A professional footballer groped a woman after he invited her to stay on his sofa when she was locked out of her flat, a court has heard.

Guy Madjo, a Cameroonian player, is being tried in his absence for the sexual penetration of the woman at his home in Grayshott, Hampshire, on August 17 2014.

Judge Andrew Barnett told the jury at Winchester Crown Court that the 31-year-old defendant, who has previously played for a number of clubs including Tranmere Rovers and Aldershot, would not be present for the trial.

He said: "You will have noticed there is no one in the dock. Would you not speculate or guess why he is not present and put that on one side and do not draw any conclusions against him."

Rebecca Austin, prosecuting, told the court that the 27-year-old alleged victim had been drinking in her local pub on the previous evening and had returned to her flat to find that she had been locked out by her partner.

The woman then got her hand stuck in the letter box and called police for help but as she was on the phone, Madjo, who lived nearby, helped her remove her hand.

The defendant offered to let her stay the night on the sofa of his home where he lived with his wife, which she accepted.

Miss Austin said the woman, who described herself as "tipsy", fell asleep on the sofa but awoke to find herself being groped by the defendant.

She said: "She immediately got up and immediately left. Mr Madjo tried to follow her and tried to encourage her to come back to his flat and got her by the arm.

"She left, walked away and called the police, she said she was being followed by him. She ran away from Mr Madjo, she fell and then she hid behind a car, she was found by a neighbour."

Miss Austin said Madjo, who plays as a striker, was later arrested and added: "He denied that the offence took place, he denied that he touched her sexually at all, he continues to deny that to this day."

Madjo, who has played for the Cameroon under-23 national team, first played in the UK as a senior for Petersfield Town before playing for other teams including Bristol City, Forest Green Rovers, Stafford Rangers, Crawley Town, Shrewsbury Town, Plymouth Argyle, Stevenage and Macclesfield Town.

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