Ryder Cup-winning golfer Thorbjorn Olesen has wept in court, saying he now wants to focus on his golf after being cleared of sexually assaulting a woman on a British Airways flight.
The Dane, 31, claimed he turned into an "automaton" and was not in control of his body after taking prescription-only sleeping pills bought on a "dodgy website" by his partner Lauren Zafer. A trial at Aldersgate House Nightingale Court, in central London, heard how he had drunk beer, red wine, vodka and champagne before take-off.
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The five-time European Tour winner ran around the cabin "like a little boy", got trapped in the toilet, and became verbally abusive to cabin crew when challenged, the jury was told.
Witnesses said the sportsman pushed BA worker Sarah White, kissed cabin service director Graham Gee's hand before making the sign of the cross, and nuzzled his face into a woman's neck before grabbing her breast. Olesen then cried before falling asleep, but later got up and urinated on fellow first-class passenger John Haggis's seat. Giving evidence, he said he had wanted to fall straight asleep on the plane having played several big tournaments, including the Open.
He said he had no memory of his behaviour after being served a glass of champagne before take-off. The court heard the medication can cause side effects including amnesia, loss of coordination and sleepwalking. His barrister, Trevor Burke QC, ran the defence of automatism, telling jurors: "His conduct was not voluntary.
