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Legal troubles

Reality star Calum Best cleared of sexual assault charge in Mallorca

Updated

The son of late soccer legend George Best was accused of forcing the hand of a woman he had just met in a club onto his crotch

Calum Best, pictured in Los Angeles in July 2016.
Calum Best, pictured in Los Angeles in July 2016.SHUTTERSTOCK

Calum Best has been cleared of sexually assaulting a British holidaymaker in Ibiza.

The 42-year-old star — who is the son of soccer legend George Best — was recently accused at the Audiencia Provincial Court in the Majorcan capital Palma of forcing "her hand on his crotch" after he met the woman in a club.

However, he has now been cleared of any wrongdoing by three trial judges, who are understood to have reached a unanimous decision, the Daily Mail newspaper reports.

The judges acknowledged that Best and his accuser offered "contradictory versions" of what happened on April 22, 2022.

They explained: "The accuser admitted she had consumed alcoholic beverages before arriving at the club (around five cocktails and four or five other alcoholic drinks and a shot) ... which is a factor that could influence the perception of events you report."

The judges also noted a lack of "external corroboration" of the allegations.

They said: "The only other evidence brought by the prosecution in this respect has come from the venue's CCTV cameras which were partially viewed during the trial.

"This court has seen the footage in its totality and has not obtained from them information to support her testimony with the certainty required by law with regards to the right to presumption of innocence."

Best always denied the allegations and the TV star previously told his defence lawyer, Jaime Campaner, that his accuser was "very drunk" during their meeting at O Beach club.

He said: "The main thing is that I know people get very drunk at the O Beach club and I don't think she would have made the allegations she did if she hadn't been drinking heavily."