Jump to content

Marlon King jailed for sex assault


Tom
 Share

Recommended Posts

Footballer jailed for sex assault

o.gifstart_quote_rb.gif He is absolutely sacked. We will not tolerate football players who get sent to jail for 18 months end_quote_rb.gif

Dave Whelan

Chairman, Wigan Athletic King was warned off her again but he continued to stroke the woman's hair and then told her she was not in his league, the court heard.

 

After she pushed him in the chest, King lost his temper and a moment of "completely gratuitous violence" led to him "smashing" the victim to the floor, jurors were told.

 

Two other people standing beside him were also knocked away as a result of the force of the blow he inflicted.

 

Several witnesses testified that King was responsible, despite his denial.

 

They included a football coach who insisted the 29-year-old Jamaican international was the assailant.

 

Wigan Athletic chairman Dave Whelan said King "was finished with football" at the club.

 

"We have to follow the rules and regulations, which means we will have to give him 40 days' notice that his contract will be cancelled," he told Sky Sports News.

 

"He is absolutely sacked. We will not tolerate football players who get sent to jail for 18 months."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

He is absolutely sacked. We will not tolerate football players who get sent to jail for 18 months

 

So if he hadnt got sent down but was found guilty then he'd be ok?

 

Surely the quote should have been "we will not tolerate football players who break the law"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bet this gets less coverage / widespread condemnation than Joey Barton chinning that kid in Liverpool.

 

It already has as I can't remember him being vilified on the pitch.

 

Correct me if im wrong like... :nah:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

He is absolutely sacked. We will not tolerate football players who get sent to jail for 18 months

 

So if he hadnt got sent down but was found guilty then he'd be ok?

 

Surely the quote should have been "we will not tolerate football players who break the law"

 

Either way hes shown hes got more backbone than the clowns at our club after the Barton fiasco

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This incident reminds me of the alleged roast affair involving Titus Bramble and others a few years ago, only more public. The money and fame seems to go to their heads and anything goes. I bet King was more upset that the victim didn't know/care who he was than that she was rejecting his advances.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

King jailed for attack on club girl

 

By JAMES CLENCH

 

STRIKER Marlon King has form for violence against women - with one attack bearing a chilling resemblance to his nightclub act of thuggery.

 

The 29-year-old Wigan Athletic star had been involved in two previous bust-ups with females, resulting in three convictions.

 

Yesterday he was given 18 months' jail for lashing out again - with his lawyer moaning the sentence would cost him up to £1MILLION in earnings.

 

Premier League Wigan immediately fired him, with chairman Dave Whelan declaring: "He is absolutely sacked."

 

King had denied punching a 20-year-old student after she complained he had touched her bottom at the nightspot in London's West End.

 

He claimed he was a victim of mistaken identity. But he was convicted at the capital's Southwark Crown Court of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and sexual assault by touching.

 

Jurors had heard he told the woman: "Don't you know who I am? I'm a millionaire. You're not even in my league."

 

He then hit her so hard that she and two friends were knocked to the floor and his pretty victim was left with blood pouring from a broken nose.

 

Jamaica international King - on £35,000 a week - was jailed, placed on the sex offenders register for seven years and told to pay £3,125 compensation plus £1,600 prosecution costs.

 

As the sentence was handed down, members of the soccer star's family screamed: "Institutional racism."

 

One relative shouted: "Heil Hitler," while another roared: "Steven Gerrard's still walking the streets" - a reference to the Liverpool captain's acquittal for affray earlier this year.

 

After the footballer's lawyer moaned about the star's loss of wages, Judge Nicholas Loraine-Smith said: "It is difficult to be sympathetic when you boasted about how much you earned.

 

"You have shown not a hint of shame for your disgraceful and arrogant behaviour."

 

Six-footer King - jailed in 2002 for handling a stolen BMW - has 13 previous convictions dating back to 1997.

 

In May 2006, he was accused of approaching stranger Claudia Canadas near Leicester Square and slapping her bottom.

 

After she complained, he slapped her in the face.

 

When cops attended, he spat at her in the presence of the police.

 

The footballer admitting using threatening or abusive behaviour and was fined £300 plus costs of £55.

 

He was also ordered to pay compensation of £500 by Bow Street magistrates.

 

In June 2003 King was told to pay £1,600 in compensation, fines and costs at Bow Street after admitting two counts of common assault against women.

 

The court heard he had chased two females through Soho with a belt buckle wrapped around his fist.

 

One told police he had punched her in the face, causing cuts and swelling.

 

Five weeks after the incident, King's then solicitor Martin Lee told cops that he was unable to attend a police station appointment because he was at a residential drugs rehab clinic.

 

During this week's case King, whose other convictions include drink-driving and various motor offences, told the jury under oath he had never taken drugs.

 

The Wigan forward lashed out during a boozy night with friends last December to celebrate the news wife Julie was expecting their third child.

 

Earlier, he had scored the winning goal against Middlesbrough for Hull City, with whom he was then on loan.

 

Onlookers told how he appeared to be drunk or on drugs as he tried to force his attentions on various girls.

 

The victim, just over 5ft, was celebrating a friend's birthday at London's Soho Review Bar when she said King fondled her backside.

 

She said: "I felt someone grab my bum - someone grab my left buttock.

 

"I turned around because I was quite disgusted and shocked.

 

"There was a man standing towards the bar, further up the walkway, smirking at me in a suggestive way.

 

"I looked at him and said quite firmly, 'Don't touch me, it's not nice. Don't do that'."

 

King then tried to grope two of her friends also at her table, stroking their chins and necks.

 

The victim told jurors: "I just turned around and said, 'You're not part of this table, can you please leave?'

 

"I'm quite a lot smaller than him and he looked over my head at my friend, saying, 'Get this girl away from me'."

 

The footballer then "smashed" her in the face, leaving her with a broken nose, black eye and split lip.

 

Witnesses said they recognised King, who has a distinctive gold tooth.

 

He then paid his bill, left with pals, and returned to his Hertfordshire mansion.

 

He later insisted he had been in the club only an hour and 45 minutes, and had left quietly after three drinks.

 

King, whose previous clubs include Gillingham and Watford, denied he was involved in any altercation, telling jurors: "I didn't punch no woman."

 

But Ryan Watts, a former colleague of the striker who witnessed the incident, told the court: "I watch a lot of football and I play a lot of football.

 

"I knew it was Marlon King because I was on trial for Watford FC for two months when he played there."

 

The judge told King: "You touched the complainant on the backside in a way that amounted to sexual assault.

 

"Although they and others told you politely to leave them alone, you weren't prepared to be ignored.

 

"After some time, you simply lost your temper and punched her hard in the face."

 

Last night King's agent Tony Finnegan said plans were in place for appeals against both his sentence and his sacking. He said: "No one saw this coming. He's very, very disappointed."

 

Worse than Barton, but with only a fraction of the media coverage.... :D

Edited by Sonatine
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Six-footer King - jailed in 2002 for handling a stolen BMW - has 13 previous convictions dating back to 1997.

 

His family can't complain too much if he has that kind of history!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

He is absolutely sacked. We will not tolerate football players who get sent to jail for 18 months

 

So if he hadnt got sent down but was found guilty then he'd be ok?

 

Surely the quote should have been "we will not tolerate football players who break the law"

 

Either way hes shown hes got more backbone than the clowns at our club after the Barton fiasco

Much worse than what Barton did imo. And no, I'm not condoning what Barton did.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The crime is irrelevant imo. Hes broken the law and been sent to jail. Wigan have written off their investment and put their morals ahead of money. We did the oppposite

 

Of course the crime's relevant. Do you thin he'd be sacked for shoplifting? It's where you should draw the line that's the issue.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We arent talking about shoplifting though. We are talking about Barton being jailed for braying a teenager and King being jailed for punching a woman. Not much difference imo. Except in the stance taken by the respective clubs.

 

No, you said the crime's irrelevant. If you meant that what Barton and King did is indefensible I tend to agree. Except I would say King's crime is much worse, since it was unprovoked, involved a woman and included sexual assault. However I thought at the time Barton should have been sacked by the club, I can only assume the club decided they had insufficient legal grounds to do so, or more likely it couldn't afford to write off the transfer fee.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The circumstances were different. I'm not saying we shouldn't have sacked Barton btw KD. Maybe we should have and in retrospect he hasn't exactly repaid us, has he? I just think it's a lot different chinning a kid who was basically asking for it (Barton was an idiot and shouldn't have been there etc.) is different to what King did. Dave Whelan' playing the moral high ground card as well but it doesn't take much to suss he's just saving himself money here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We arent talking about shoplifting though. We are talking about Barton being jailed for braying a teenager and King being jailed for punching a woman. Not much difference imo. Except in the stance taken by the respective clubs.

 

No, you said the crime's irrelevant. If you meant that what Barton and King did is indefensible I tend to agree. Except I would say King's crime is much worse, since it was unprovoked, involved a woman and included sexual assault. However I thought at the time Barton should have been sacked by the club, I can only assume the club decided they had insufficient legal grounds to do so, or more likely it couldn't afford to write off the transfer fee.

 

 

If a man goes to jail and cant go to work on a daily basis he can be sacked. And as for the transfer fee, I think wed be lucky to give him away the way hes played this season.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The circumstances were different. I'm not saying we shouldn't have sacked Barton btw KD. Maybe we should have and in retrospect he hasn't exactly repaid us, has he? I just think it's a lot different chinning a kid who was basically asking for it (Barton was an idiot and shouldn't have been there etc.) is different to what King did. Dave Whelan' playing the moral high ground card as well but it doesn't take much to suss he's just saving himself money here.

 

Hes not really saving himself money though. Theres not a court in the land would decide that King should be receiving his wages whilst hes inside. He cost them £3million which is a lot of money to a club like Wigan. Probably more than the £6million we paid for Barton relatively speaking. I just think his stance is commendable

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The circumstances were different. I'm not saying we shouldn't have sacked Barton btw KD. Maybe we should have and in retrospect he hasn't exactly repaid us, has he? I just think it's a lot different chinning a kid who was basically asking for it (Barton was an idiot and shouldn't have been there etc.) is different to what King did. Dave Whelan' playing the moral high ground card as well but it doesn't take much to suss he's just saving himself money here.

 

Hes not really saving himself money though. Theres not a court in the land would decide that King should be receiving his wages whilst hes inside. He cost them £3million which is a lot of money to a club like Wigan. Probably more than the £6million we paid for Barton relatively speaking. I just think his stance is commendable

Perhaps I'm just being cynical. The main thrust of my post though, which you conveniently ignored, was my disagreement with your suggestion that there wasn't much difference between the two offences.

Edited by alex
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We arent talking about shoplifting though. We are talking about Barton being jailed for braying a teenager and King being jailed for punching a woman. Not much difference imo. Except in the stance taken by the respective clubs.

 

No, you said the crime's irrelevant. If you meant that what Barton and King did is indefensible I tend to agree. Except I would say King's crime is much worse, since it was unprovoked, involved a woman and included sexual assault. However I thought at the time Barton should have been sacked by the club, I can only assume the club decided they had insufficient legal grounds to do so, or more likely it couldn't afford to write off the transfer fee.

 

 

If a man goes to jail and cant go to work on a daily basis he can be sacked. And as for the transfer fee, I think wed be lucky to give him away the way hes played this season.

 

tbh I haven't seen Barton's contract, but I suspect you're right we could have sacked him. However the issue of the transfer fee was relevant at the time he got banged up. Firstly if he'd come back and played like a demon, he'd have had a transfer value. Secondly, if he'd been sacked, the club would have had to write off all of his transfer fee in the accounts, rather than just amortising it. Obviously with hindsight he's been a total waste of space but I thnk they held out hope they could get something for him.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The circumstances were different. I'm not saying we shouldn't have sacked Barton btw KD. Maybe we should have and in retrospect he hasn't exactly repaid us, has he? I just think it's a lot different chinning a kid who was basically asking for it (Barton was an idiot and shouldn't have been there etc.) is different to what King did. Dave Whelan' playing the moral high ground card as well but it doesn't take much to suss he's just saving himself money here.

 

Hes not really saving himself money though. Theres not a court in the land would decide that King should be receiving his wages whilst hes inside. He cost them £3million which is a lot of money to a club like Wigan. Probably more than the £6million we paid for Barton relatively speaking. I just think his stance is commendable

Perhaps I'm just being cynical. The main thrust of my post though, which you conveniently ignored, was my disagreement with your suggestion that there wasn't much difference between the two offences.

 

I dont think there is. Assault is assault. Whether it be one punch to a woman, or 20 to a teenager. The law looks at it the same way

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The circumstances were different. I'm not saying we shouldn't have sacked Barton btw KD. Maybe we should have and in retrospect he hasn't exactly repaid us, has he? I just think it's a lot different chinning a kid who was basically asking for it (Barton was an idiot and shouldn't have been there etc.) is different to what King did. Dave Whelan' playing the moral high ground card as well but it doesn't take much to suss he's just saving himself money here.

 

Hes not really saving himself money though. Theres not a court in the land would decide that King should be receiving his wages whilst hes inside. He cost them £3million which is a lot of money to a club like Wigan. Probably more than the £6million we paid for Barton relatively speaking. I just think his stance is commendable

Perhaps I'm just being cynical. The main thrust of my post though, which you conveniently ignored, was my disagreement with your suggestion that there wasn't much difference between the two offences.

 

I dont think there is. Assault is assault. Whether it be one punch to a woman, or 20 to a teenager. The law looks at it the same way

If you hit someone after they've goading you into attacking them, that's the same as hitting a woman for refusing your sexual advances then objecting to you groping her?

And Is that why King got a much longer sentence then?

You're just being contrary. Carry on digging though by all means.

Edited by alex
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.