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The wife of a former MP who was found guilty of sexual assaults has announced she is leaving him after 25 years of marriage.
Charlie Elphicke, 49, who dubbed himself a “Naughty Tory”, is facing jail today after a jury found him guilty of three counts of sexual assault.
Elphicke’s wife Natalie, who replaced him as MP for Dover, said the verdict brought “profound sorrow”.
She wrote on Twitter: “Today’s verdict is one that brings profound sorrow.
“It ends my 25 year marriage to the only man I have ever loved.
“I would ask for some personal space and time to come to terms with the shocking events of the last three years.”
Her husband, the MP for Dover from 2010 to 2019, wept in the witness box during his trial as he admitted to cheating on his wife, but denied all suggestions of non-consensual sexual activity.
The court heard that Elphicke pounced on one of his victims as they shared a glass of wine talking “suggestively” about bondage and whips before plunging his hand down her blouse.
When she tried to flee, Elphicke chased her around the kitchen trying to slap her bottom “like a sketch from a Benny Hill” and chanted “I’m a naughty Tory” in the 2007 incident, Southwark Crown Court heard.
He sexually assaulted a second woman, a Parliamentary staffer, after he had been elected to the Dover seat, trying to kiss her and putting his hand down her top in a Westminster office.
After the guilty verdicts were delivered, Mrs Justice Whipple released Elphicke on bail until sentencing in September, but warned: “There is a very real possibility he faces immediate custody.”
Natalie Dawson, CPS Specialist Prosecutor, said Elphicke had “lied repeatedly about his conduct and failed to take responsibility for his behaviour”.
“Charles Elphicke abused his power and influence over these women to make unwanted and forceful sexual advances towards them,” she said.
“The assaults have had a profound impact on these women – who feared for their careers if they reported him.”
Elphicke, of Dover, Kent, denied three counts of sexual assault. He will return to court on September 15 to be sentenced.
