Firearms officer on trial for alleged sexual assault on co-worker
Sergeant Constandino Simeonidis is accused of assaulting a fellow officer
A City of London Police firearms sergeant said “good girl” to a fellow officer, after allegedly sexually assaulting her in a Square Mile cocktail bar, a court has heard.
Sergeant Constandino Simeonidis, 55, from Milton Keynes, came up behind the woman and grabbed her bottom, it is said, before allegedly pulling down her tights and carrying out a sexual assault.
The alleged victim says she was left “embarrassed” and “humiliated” after the incident, but did not want to report it for fear of not being believed.
Simeonides, who is part of the City of London Police firearms unit, denies claims of sexual assault, saying they had been flirting that night and any physical contact was consensual.
Inner London crown court heard the incident dates back to 2022 at a City cocktail bar on a social occasion.
She was standing at the bar when she “felt a hand touch her bottom and then go between her legs”, said prosecutor Edmund Blackman.
“She shuffled away, thinking ‘that’s not right’, and heard the defendant behind her saying ‘good girl’ in reference to her.
“She then felt a tug on her tights and he put his hand inside her knickers and was touching her vagina.”
The woman says she was sexually assaulted and turned around to see Simeonides with his fingers in his mouth.
“He had pulled the tights so hard the elastic was broken,” said Mr Blackman.
“She felt disgusting, went to the toilet and then left the bar.”
Jurors heard the woman had been drinking earlier in the day, having glasses of white wine, a tequila shot and a limoncello.
But she says she had switched to water by the time of the alleged assault.
Mr Blackman said before the alleged sexual assaults Simeonides was sat with the woman and “told her he really liked her”.
“She told him she really liked him as well, and they were both talking in a way a bit more than just friends,” said the prosecutor.
The woman told police she was “embarrassed, shocked and humiliated” in the aftermath of the alleged gropes, but resolved to not report the incident.
“She wanted to put it behind her and out of her mind,” said Mr Blackman.
“She thought if she did report it others might not believe her.”
She also says that Simeonides being “well thought of” by his colleagues contributed to her decision not to come forward.
But she did make a report to police in March 2023 after speaking to a friend about the night.
When questioned, Simeonides “denied he had done anything wrong”, jurors heard.
He said the woman “had been extremely flirtatious” and insisted she had consented to any physical contact that night.
Simeonides also specifically denied touching the woman’s vagina in the second part of the alleged incident.
Simeonides denies sexual assault and sexual assault by penetration.
The trial continues.