Celebrity chef Mario Batali was acquitted by a judge in Boston. The chef was facing sexual assault charges against a 32-year old woman who spoke of the assault when she took selfies with him. This was the only criminal case case against the celebrity. In another case, he had denied the charges of sexual assault but agreed to pay $600,000 to 20 employees or more as there were charges of sexual harassment at his popular restaurants in Manhattan. He had apologized for his “deeply inappropriate behavior.”
Judge James Stanton of Boston Municipal Court found the celebrity chef not guilty of indecent assault and battery. The charge was filed in 2019. In his verdict, the judge said that although chef Batali “did not cover himself in glory on the night in question” the photos produced in court created reasonable doubt for the following reasons: Tene had spend time posing for the photos and there were also visible gaps between the two individuals.
Batali left the court without any reaction after the verdict was announced by the judge. He was surrounded by reporters but made no comment. District Attorney Kevin Hayden released a statement that mentioned that it could be “incredibly difficult for a victim to disclose a sexual assault” and that his office would “not waiver” in their “support for the victim.”
In December 2017, the website Eater gave details about the allegations from four women, of inappropriate touch by Batali through more than twenty years. After this report, Batali lost his celebrity status and lost his show “The Chew.” He had to leave popular restaurants “Babbo and Del Posto, in New York. He apologized and paid a hefty fine, along with his business partner.
Natali Tene said that she was initially “embarrassed” after the incident but wanted to get “the truth out there and that everybody should be “accountable for their actions.” She detailed the assault that included groping her breasts, buttocks and crotch, while he drunkenly posed for selfies with her. The incident occurred at a bar near Boston’s Eatly, which was an Italian market and restaurant, of which the celebrity chef had been part owner. However Batali’s lawyers argued that she had filed the charges to “cash in” through her pending civil lawsuit.
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