Tom Daley’s husband Dustin Lance Black has had an assault case against him dismissed mid-trial.
The Oscar winner was accused of assaulting BBC presenter Teddy Edwardes at the Freedom nightclub in Soho in London on 18 August last year.
Black, who married the Olympic champion diver in 2017, was at the venue with his husband when he had an altercation with Edwardes, prosecutor Adrita Ahmed told Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
He was alleged to have grabbed Edwardes’ wrist “very hard” – spilling a drink over her.
But District Judge Louisa Cieciora dismissed the charge, citing inconsistencies in Edwardes’ live evidence.
“[Edwardes] said in her evidence at one point that she could not remember a wrist grab,” the judge told the court.
“She then said that she was sure that it did happen – and that was an obvious contradiction.”
The judge said CCTV footage was “not clear” due to “the angle of the camera”.
Court cases can be thrown out at the close of the prosecution’s case if they are so weak that a jury could not properly convict – and in this case, the jury was Judge Cieciora.
Her decision means Black and Daley do not have to take the stand.
It followed a submission from Helena Duong, defending, who said the prosecution failed to prove Black grabbed Edwardes’ wrist.
Instead, she said Black grabbed Edwardes’ drink and spilt it on the floor.
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Ms Duong said it was Edwardes who had shown aggression.
It was an agreed fact in the case that Edwardes punched Black in the back of the head after their altercation.
She received a police caution for the punch, the court was told.
Speaking after the hearing, Black, who won an Oscar for best original screenplay for 2008’s Milk, described the judge’s dismissal as a “moment of exoneration”.
“This case has flown in the face of everything that I am,” he said.
“I am very grateful to the judge for exonerating me.”
Daley and Black welcomed their first child Robert Ray in 2018 via surrogate, and their second son Phoenix Rose in April this year.
