A Woodville councillor has been found not guilty of alleged sexual assault.

In a trial at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court today (Thursday), Cllr Malcolm Gee, 76, of Briar Close, Newhall, was found not guilty of sexual assault.

He had been accused of "intentionally touching a woman aged 16 or over and that touching was sexual when she did not consent and you did not reasonably believe that she was consenting".

Gee, a member of South Derbyshire District Council representing Woodville for Labour, had pleaded not guilty in December and maintained his innocence throughout the trial, saying: "I have never done anything wrong."

He did not wish to comment following the verdict being read out by Magistrate Maggie Tate.

Gee is a former council chairman, a self-employed driving instructor, a South Derbyshire-registered private hire vehicle driver and a governor at Granville Academy.

The trial heard how a member of council staff, who cannot be identified, had alleged that she was sexually assaulted by Gee on May 13, 2024.

She alleged Gee had poked the council emblem on her uniform which sat on her left breast, asking "what is that called" and then poked her right breast, asking again "what is that one called".

Later on, during the same evening, it was alleged that Gee spoke to the woman again but chose to leave when the woman called out to another colleague who had been out of view.

The woman alleged that when Gee touched her breasts she thought "what the bloody hell". She claimed: "I didn't know what to do when someone of that stature touches my boobies, it has never happened before".

She said: "I just want him to say sorry. I have been nice to him in the past and he has taken advantage of that friendship. It stinks. I did have three days off work because I couldn't stop crying, before I pulled myself together and came back.

"I didn't think to say 'get off me, what do you think you're going', I don't come across people poking my boobies every day."

Gee contested that he did not touch the woman and had only gestured to each of her shoulders, claiming the council emblem did not sit on her breast but below her rotator cuff.

When he was shown a photo of the woman wearing the same uniform, he asked: "Has that been pulled down?"

Jo Tait, prosecuting, claimed: "It is touching, it is sexual, it has been done without her consent and he knew that. 

"It might be suggested that if a woman is sexually assaulted then she will immediately respond but I think we all know that in shocking situations we all react differently and she did not react and reported it the next day."

The court was told that Gee was arrested, placed in a cell and then interviewed by police four days after the incident, on May 17, 2024, due to previous good character, and had already prepared a statement to the council after he had been contacted the day after the incident as part of their internal investigation.

During the trial the court was told that Gee had joked with the member of staff about a piece of diversity training, commenting: "I failed because when I got the question 'who went to Mount Olive?' I said it was Popeye".

Gee said this was "lighthearted" and there was "nothing sinister about it".

Ms Tait alleged that Gee made a habit of saying inappropriate comments and said the second time he met with the woman was possibly an attempt to get her alone "for something more sinister".

Gee said: "As a law-abiding citizen, I have done nothing wrong. I lost my chairmanship of Woodville Parish Council, my chairmanship and vice chairmanship of committees, chairman of the council and was told I could not run for county council (with the elections taking place next week).

"This is defamation of character and it is vindictive.

"It is a false accusation. It is a lie. I have done nothing wrong."

Ms Tait put it to Gee that the woman had not lost her job and had detailed that all she wanted was an apology and as such clearly did not have a motive.

She claimed: "He has lied to protect his very prestigious position and just because he has not been convicted before does not mean he has not committed any other offences.

"Offences of this nature are grossly underreported because women have chalked it up, sucked it up and carried on like this for years."

Nigel Dicks, defending, said Gee "has been consistent from the beginning, he is quite sure he has not touched anybody".

He said: "He is a man of good character who has nothing to gain from this and everything to lose.

"It is clearly very sad and there is no animosity but no one knows what actually happened.

"There is no independent evidence or other witnesses who saw it happen."

Mrs Tate, announcing the verdict, said: "We have listened carefully to everything that has been said. Both witnesses gave clear testimony and we found it credible.

"There are discrepancies between the timelines but both agreed the general topics of conversation.

"The prosecution did not prove their case beyond reasonable doubt. We cannot be sure about the touching and without that we cannot consider the other elements."