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Premiership footballer Marlon King jailed for assault on woman who rejected him
(Paul Rogers/The Times)
Marlon King attended court with his wife
Nico Hines
gSiteLife.Recommend("ExternalResource", "6895707","http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article6895707.ece");
div#related-article-links p a, div#related-article-links p a:visited { color:#06c; } A Premiership footballer was today sentenced to 18 months in jail for groping a woman and punching her in the face after she spurned his advances in a nightclub.
Marlon King, a Wigan and Jamaica striker, was celebrating his wife’s pregnancy in a bar in Central London when sexually assaulted the 20-year-old woman and then broke her nose with a single powerful punch.
The footballer, who has not played a match this season, was found unanimously guilty by the jury at Southwark Crown Court in South London. Dave Whelan, the Wigan chairman, announced this evening that the club has sacked King after the conviction.
King, who had scored the winning goal in a match a few hours before the attack, was repeatedly “cold-shouldered” by women in the busy Soho Revue Bar last December, the jury heard.
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When a slightly-built university student became the latest to recoil from his advances, he lost his temper and in an outburst of “completely gratuitous violence” he lashed out, “smashing” her to the floor.
The court heard that his single clenched fist blow was so powerful that two other women - one of them holding on to his arm - were also knocked from their feet.
During the trial, the victim said: “I felt someone grab my left buttock. I turned around because I was quite disgusted and shocked. There was a man standing towards the bar, smirking at me in a suggestive way. I said quite firmly, ‘Don’t touch me, it’s not nice.”
The prosecution explained that King had then grabbed the woman’s wrist before punching her in the face causing a broken nose, black eye and split lip.
While bouncers moved in to restrain the muscular £5m striker, friends rushed to the aid of his victim. As she was helped to her feet, blood poured from her shattered nose.
The 29-year-old player, from Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire, claimed he was a victim of “mistaken identity”. But after hearing overwhelming evidence from a string of witnesses, including a football coach who insisted King was the assailant, the jury decided he was lying.
(Paul Rogers/The Times)
Marlon King attended court with his wife
Nico Hines
gSiteLife.Recommend("ExternalResource", "6895707","http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article6895707.ece");
div#related-article-links p a, div#related-article-links p a:visited { color:#06c; } A Premiership footballer was today sentenced to 18 months in jail for groping a woman and punching her in the face after she spurned his advances in a nightclub.
Marlon King, a Wigan and Jamaica striker, was celebrating his wife’s pregnancy in a bar in Central London when sexually assaulted the 20-year-old woman and then broke her nose with a single powerful punch.
The footballer, who has not played a match this season, was found unanimously guilty by the jury at Southwark Crown Court in South London. Dave Whelan, the Wigan chairman, announced this evening that the club has sacked King after the conviction.
King, who had scored the winning goal in a match a few hours before the attack, was repeatedly “cold-shouldered” by women in the busy Soho Revue Bar last December, the jury heard.
function slideshowPopUp(url) { pictureGalleryPopupPic(url); return false; } Related Links
When a slightly-built university student became the latest to recoil from his advances, he lost his temper and in an outburst of “completely gratuitous violence” he lashed out, “smashing” her to the floor.
The court heard that his single clenched fist blow was so powerful that two other women - one of them holding on to his arm - were also knocked from their feet.
During the trial, the victim said: “I felt someone grab my left buttock. I turned around because I was quite disgusted and shocked. There was a man standing towards the bar, smirking at me in a suggestive way. I said quite firmly, ‘Don’t touch me, it’s not nice.”
The prosecution explained that King had then grabbed the woman’s wrist before punching her in the face causing a broken nose, black eye and split lip.
While bouncers moved in to restrain the muscular £5m striker, friends rushed to the aid of his victim. As she was helped to her feet, blood poured from her shattered nose.
The 29-year-old player, from Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire, claimed he was a victim of “mistaken identity”. But after hearing overwhelming evidence from a string of witnesses, including a football coach who insisted King was the assailant, the jury decided he was lying.
The Jamaican international had said he "didn't touch any girl in that club"
He is absolutely sacked. We will not tolerate football players who get sent to jail for 18 months 
King will be left without a club once he has served his sentence
The jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict against King
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