Man accused of sexually touching girl while on choir trip to New York

A man on a trip to New York City with a choir got drunk one night and sexually touching a teenage girl aged under 16 in a hotel room, a jury at Bristol Crown Court heard.

Robert Kelly, 36, of Braikenridge Close in Clevedon, appeared at the court for the first day of a trial today (December 5). He denies one count of sexual touching of a child aged between 13 and 15.

Mr Tom Faulkner, prosecuting, introduced the case to the members of the jury after they were sworn in. He said that Kelly had accompanied a choir to America, where they remained for several days and the alleged offence had taken place.

On the night of the alleged offence, Mr Faulkner said Kelly had been out drinking with other adults in the group. “It stood out to them,” Mr Faulkner said, “that the defendant and a friend had drunk considerably more than anyone else and were drunk most nights.”

Kelly was then seen ‘stumbling around intoxicated’ in a corridor in a hotel when he went inside a room, the jury was told. Inside, Mr Faulkner said Kelly sat next to the girl on a bed and put his arm around her, before putting his hand under her top and rubbing her back up and down and moving his palm toward her bottom and around her waist.

When Kelly was told to stop, he moved away before coming back and touching the legs of the girl, who was sobbing during the incident, Mr Faulkner said.

The matter was investigated by Avon and Somerset Police a number of years after the alleged incident. Mr Faulkner said Kelly denies any sexual activity, and that he says he did not touch the girl’s legs or bottom.

The trial continues.

On December 8, Mr Kelly was found not guilty following the trial