James GordonThorbjorn Olesen, a Danish golfer who competed in the Ryder Cup this year, has been accused of sexually assaulting an American woman on a flight from Atlanta to New York City.
Thorbjorn Olesen has won the European Tour five times.
During a British Airways flight in 2019, Ryder Cup winner Thorbjorn Olesen “grabbed and stroked the breast” of a lady and “urinated” in the aisle, a court heard.
The 31-year-old Danish golfer was also accused of being “drunk and rowdy” and cursing at cabin service members.
Olesen has denied sexually abusing a lady, flying inebriated, and attacking a second woman by beating.
On Monday, his trial started in London’s Aldersgate House Nightingale Court.
Before boarding an aircraft from Nashville to Heathrow on July 29, 2019, Olesen was participating in the World Golf Championships-FedEx St Jude Invitational in Memphis.
After consuming beer and taking sleeping pills, Olesen had no recall of his behavior aboard the aircraft, according to the verdict.
The lady Olesen is accused of sexually assaulting stated he was “unsteady” on his feet in a witness statement given to the court.
“He grabbed my hand and kissed it,” she added. He was adamant about not letting go. He pressed his chin into the back of my neck. He certainly didn’t know what he was doing, I thought.
“I was apprehensive of his actions since he had previously been hostile with crew members. His right hand was wrapped around my back. He then grasped my right breast and rubbed his palm over it. I was taken aback. It had stepped beyond the line.”
Olesen “looked obviously inebriated and absolutely spaced out,” according to one member of the cabin staff.
In 27 years of employment, another remarked she had “never come across such horrible behavior on board an aircraft.”
She stated she offered Olesen two drinks early on the trip in a statement.
“I was aware that there was another guest in the cabin who was sipping pink champagne, and I saw Mr Olesen drinking from their glass,” she said.
“Mr. Olesen and his traveling buddy drew my interest. They looked to be attempting to throw a celebration.”
She later said that she attempted to assist Olesen in returning from the restroom, but that he walked past it and into business class.
She said, ” “‘It’s all about you, isn’t it?’ he pushed me, his right hand on my right shoulder. ‘Just leave.’ He had beaten me up.”
Her colleagues interfered when she approached golfer Ian Poulter for help at this time.
“I could hear Mr Olsen ranting while doing my duties,” she stated.
“About four hours into the trip, a customer rang the call button to alert the attendant that Mr Olesen had gotten up and urinated over the guy, his seat, and the aisle.”
Olesen shouted at him “on multiple occasions,” according to cabin service director Graham Gee, and was “staggering” about.
The airplane’s captain informed authorities that he had discussed with colleagues the idea of diverting the flight if the issue with Olesen “escalated.”
He said that after learning that Olesen had urinated in the aisle, he went inside the cabin and “saw a trail of liquid running from first class,” and made plans for the plane to be cleaned thoroughly when it arrived in London.
“A hardworking man who is committed to his vocation,” Poulter told cops about Olesen.
He admitted to taking sleeping pills, but said that he “had not supplied any sleeping drugs to Thorbjorn” and that he afterwards supported Gee in returning Olesen to his seat.
Poulter told the cops, “He looked a bit worse for wear, and I simply figured he’d had a little too much to drink.”
Justin Rose, another golfer, “kept coming into the galley to check what was going on,” according to the court.
A member of the cabin staff “noticed a small group of persons gathering around seat 2E and they had brightly colored tablets,” according to the court.
“I heard someone say ‘oh, I’ll have one of them,’ but I don’t know who it was,” she said.
“He could recall going on the aircraft and consuming some tablets,” Olesen stated in a police interview on July 29.
He admitted to having “five or six beers” before boarding the aircraft, but denied being intoxicated, claiming he had taken up to four sleeping tablets before boarding.
The trial is still ongoing.
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