Latest news with #falseAccusation
Daily Mail
14-06-2025
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Year-long ‘groping' nightmare of father accused of sexual assault after tapping male waiter on the back to avoid collision in hotel bar
A businessman found himself at the centre of a year-long nightmare at the hands of the Metropolitan Police after tapping a male waiter on the back for a second to avoid a collision in a hotel bar. Father-of-two Simon Correia was hauled before the courts after being falsely accused of intimately groping and touching the waiter's bottom following a black-tie awards ceremony held at London 's Park Plaza Riverbank hotel. CCTV footage clearly shows, from multiple angles, that Mr Correia, 48, momentarily placed his hand on the back of the man – who was holding a tray of drinks – to warn him not to step backwards. But even after viewing the footage and admitting it did not show what the accuser had described, a Met Police officer arrested the married company director, threw him in a cell for 15 hours and charged him with sexual assault. The false allegation triggered a horrific year-long legal saga which cost Mr Correia £10,000 in fees and devastated his family. His nightmare only came to an end on February 6 this year when, after seeing the CCTV footage, a judge threw the case out of court, saying it 'wholly contradicted' the waiter's account. Yet despite being cleared of any wrongdoing, Mr Correia, from Liverpool, and his wife Clare, 45, say they are yet to receive an apology from either the Met or the Crown Prosecution Service – or an explanation for why the case was ever allowed to proceed to trial. Last night, speaking exclusively to The Mail on Sunday, Mr Correia, who feared he would be placed on the sex offenders register, broke down while describing his ordeal. He said: 'At some points I thought I was going to take my life. I would never do it, but I was so panicked about my business and about how people would perceive me - I've never been in trouble in my life and then suddenly I'd been accused of something I hadn't done by this horrible individual.' 'It was like this evil spell had been cast over us.' The couple now want recognition from both the Met and the CPS of what Mr Correia was put through – and for his accuser to face justice for making false allegations. Mrs Correia said: 'The CPS and the Met, who have allowed this to happen, have given not one apology. They've all just tried to cover their back and they've allowed a dangerous man to walk free.' Mr Correia, the director of luxury watch brand Escudo, had been shortlisted for the Family Business of the Year award by the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and had travelled with Clare to the capital in February last year for the ceremony. When the event finished, the couple went to the hotel's Chino Latino bar where, after chatting with other business leaders, Mr Correia sat with his wife at a table where a waiter was setting down drinks. Aware the waiter was facing away from him, Mr Correia lightly tapped the man on the back to make him aware of his presence. Recalling the moment, he said: 'I put my phone down and then said, 'Cheers mate', while I tapped him on the back and then sat straight down in my chair behind him. That was it. It was innocent and was just a warning of, 'I'm behind you, I'm just letting you know'.' CCTV footage then shows the waiter calmly continuing to put drinks on the table. Just over an hour later, the bar manager told Mr Correia that a staff member had accused him of sexual assault. Mr Correia said: 'I was thinking, it's got to be a prank – I honestly did. In the back of my mind I was hoping someone was going to go, 'Got ya!', but it just became more real the longer it went on.' Two officers took a statement from the waiter, who claimed Mr Correia had groped him and used a finger to penetrate him. A female officer's bodycam video, seen by the MoS, reveals she then watched the incident on the hotel's CCTV. Significantly, it captures her saying, 'That's not what he's just described' – a reference to the waiter's lurid allegations. Despite this, she arrested Mr Correia and took him to Brixton Police Station, where he was locked in a cell. Fifteen hours later, he was charged with sexual assault and left in limbo until the trial. But despite their torment, at the trial, on February 6, 2025, at Inner London Crown Court, the judge threw it out almost immediately, saying the waiter's allegations were 'wholly contradicted by the CCTV footage'. Mr Correia's barrister Charlotte Godber said it was her 'shortest ever Crown Court trial' at just one hour and 56 minutes. 'I just completely broke down and couldn't stop crying,' Mr Correia said. 'Some of the jury members were even crying and coming up to me to shake my hand.' Mr Correia's business partner and stepfather, Richard Johnson, 77, described the case as a 'waste of public money and time' which 'failed the entire criminal justice system'. Meanwhile, his accuser, a Muslim man who has legal anonymity as the 'victim' of a sex crime and who told police his 'religion is very sensitive to this sort of thing', has faced no repercussions for making a false accusation. 'The worst part is, he's still out there and he's not had any punishment for lying to the police and then lying in court,' Mr Correia said. 'I just want to warn other people about how easily something like this can happen. If it can happen to me it can happen to anyone.' A Met Police spokesman said: 'We have a duty to investigate allegations of crime when it is reported to us. 'This matter was assessed and then proportionately investigated by officers. Police authorised a charge and then the case was passed to the Crown Prosecution Service.' A CPS spokesman said: 'We recognise the toll the criminal process can take on both defendants and complainants, and we have written to Mr Correia to explain our decision-making in this case.'
CBS News
13-06-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Ramón Morales Reyes, migrant framed with penning threatening Trump letters, is released on bond
A man who was falsely accused of threatening to assassinate President Donald Trump and threatened with deportation to Mexico was released Thursday from a Wisconsin jail on bond, three weeks after federal immigration agents arrested him. Ramón Morales Reyes, 54, was accused of writing a letter threatening Trump in a social media post by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem that got widespread national coverage. The post includes Morales Reyes' photo and an excerpt from the letter he purportedly wrote in English. But the claims quickly fell apart as Wisconsin authorities determined that Reyes, who doesn't speak English well or write in the language, was framed. Morales Reyes was a victim in a violent 2023 attack where his bike was stolen. According to authorities, the alleged attacker, Demetric D. Scott, forged the letter to try to clear his case. Morales Reyes was set to be a witness in Scott's July trial for armed robbery and aggravated battery. Morales Reyes was released in the afternoon after paying the $7,500 bond that an immigration judge set on Tuesday. Speaking to WISN-TV, Morales Reyes said he and his lawyer will fight his deportation. "I believe (the lawyer) knows the history and all of you know what happened," he said. He was later met by relatives and members of the Milwaukee-based immigrant rights group Voces de la Frontera, which has helped work on his case. Christine Neumann-Ortiz, the organization's executive director, said Morales Reyes was "relieved" and "very grateful for all of the support he's received." Judge Carla Espinoza said at the immigration court hearing in Chicago that Morales Reyes was not a threat to the community. Morales Reyes, a married father of three U.S. citizen children, works as a dishwasher in Milwaukee. He was arrested by immigration agents last month after dropping a child off at school. He immigrated from Mexico in the 1980s and doesn't have legal permission to be in the U.S. This year, he applied for a U visa, which is for people in the country illegally who are victims of serious crimes. Getting such a visa can take years. Homeland Security issued a statement to reporters last week saying that although Morales Reyes was no longer considered a threat to Trump, federal attorneys would still pursue an immigration case. The government alleges that Morales Reyes reentered the U.S. numerous times without a visa. Morales Reyes had been held in the Dodge Detention Center in Juneau, about 70 miles north of Milwaukee. He was released after the federal government did not appeal the setting of his bond. Noem's social media post blaming Morales Reyes for an assassination attempt, which was circulated by Trump supporters, remains online. Note: The video featured above aired June 10, 2025.
Washington Post
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
An immigrant in Wisconsin has been released on bond after false accusation he threatened Trump
MADISON, Wis. — A man who was falsely accused of threatening to assassinate President Donald Trump and threatened with deportation to Mexico was released Thursday from a Wisconsin jail on bond, three weeks after federal immigration agents arrested him. Ramón Morales Reyes , 54, was accused of a writing a letter threatening Trump in a social media post by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem that got widespread national coverage. The post includes Morales Reyes' photo and an excerpt from the letter he purportedly wrote in English. But the claims quickly fell apart as Wisconsin authorities determined that Reyes, who doesn't speak English well or write in the language, was framed.
The Independent
13-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
An immigrant in Wisconsin has been released on bond after false accusation he threatened Trump
A man who was falsely accused of threatening to assassinate President Donald Trump and threatened with deportation to Mexico was released Thursday from a Wisconsin jail on bond, three weeks after federal immigration agents arrested him. Ramón Morales Reyes, 54, was accused of a writing a letter threatening Trump in a social media post by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem that got widespread national coverage. The post includes Morales Reyes' photo and an excerpt from the letter he purportedly wrote in English. But the claims quickly fell apart as Wisconsin authorities determined that Reyes, who doesn't speak English well or write in the language, was framed. Morales Reyes was a victim in a violent 2023 attack where his bike was stolen. According to authorities, the alleged attacker, Demetric D. Scott, forged the letter to try to clear his case. Morales Reyes was set to be a witness in Scott's July trial for armed robbery and aggravated battery. Morales Reyes was released after paying the $7,500 bond that an immigration judge set on Tuesday. Speaking to WISN-TV, Morales Reyes said he and his lawyer will fight his deportation. 'I believe (the lawyer) knows the history and all of you know what happened," he said. Judge Carla Espinoza said at the immigration court hearing in Chicago that Morales Reyes was not a threat to the community. Morales Reyes, a married father of three U.S. citizen children, works as a dishwasher in Milwaukee. He was arrested by immigration agents last month after dropping a child off at school. He immigrated from Mexico in the 1980s and doesn't have legal permission to be in the U.S. This year, he applied for a U visa, which is for people in the country illegally who are victims of serious crimes. Getting such a visa can take years. Homeland Security issued a statement to reporters last week saying that although Morales Reyes was no longer considered a threat to Trump, federal attorneys would still pursue an immigration case. The government alleges that Morales Reyes reentered the U.S. numerous times without a visa. Morales Reyes had been held in the Dodge Detention Center in Juneau, about 70 miles (113 kilometers) north of Milwaukee. He was released after the federal government did not appeal the setting of his bond. Noem's social media post blaming Morales Reyes for an assassination attempt, which was circulated by Trump supporters, remains online. ___ Tareen reported from Chicago.
Associated Press
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
An immigrant in Wisconsin has been released on bond after false accusation he threatened Trump
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A man who was falsely accused of threatening to assassinate President Donald Trump and threatened with deportation to Mexico was released Thursday from a Wisconsin jail on bond, three weeks after federal immigration agents arrested him. Ramón Morales Reyes, 54, was accused of a writing a letter threatening Trump in a social media post by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem that got widespread national coverage. The post includes Morales Reyes' photo and an excerpt from the letter he purportedly wrote in English. But the claims quickly fell apart as Wisconsin authorities determined that Reyes, who doesn't speak English well or write in the language, was framed. Morales Reyes was a victim in a violent 2023 attack where his bike was stolen. According to authorities, the alleged attacker, Demetric D. Scott, forged the letter to try to clear his case. Morales Reyes was set to be a witness in Scott's July trial for armed robbery and aggravated battery. Morales Reyes was released after paying the $7,500 bond that an immigration judge set on Tuesday. Speaking to WISN-TV, Morales Reyes said he and his lawyer will fight his deportation. 'I believe (the lawyer) knows the history and all of you know what happened,' he said. Judge Carla Espinoza said at the immigration court hearing in Chicago that Morales Reyes was not a threat to the community. Morales Reyes, a married father of three U.S. citizen children, works as a dishwasher in Milwaukee. He was arrested by immigration agents last month after dropping a child off at school. He immigrated from Mexico in the 1980s and doesn't have legal permission to be in the U.S. This year, he applied for a U visa, which is for people in the country illegally who are victims of serious crimes. Getting such a visa can take years. Homeland Security issued a statement to reporters last week saying that although Morales Reyes was no longer considered a threat to Trump, federal attorneys would still pursue an immigration case. The government alleges that Morales Reyes reentered the U.S. numerous times without a visa. Morales Reyes had been held in the Dodge Detention Center in Juneau, about 70 miles (113 kilometers) north of Milwaukee. He was released after the federal government did not appeal the setting of his bond. Noem's social media post blaming Morales Reyes for an assassination attempt, which was circulated by Trump supporters, remains online. ___ Tareen reported from Chicago.
