Mario Batali was found guilty Tuesday of indecent assault and battery after he was accused of groping and kissing a woman while taking a selfie outside a Boston restaurant in 2017.
The first celebrity chef to face criminal charges as part of the #MeToo movement, Batali was acquitted of a misdemeanor charge after a two-day trial in Boston Municipal Court in which he denied his right to a jury. What was a gamble by the disgraced chef effectively worked when the judge suggested that Batali had already been rescinded. The judge again sided with the defense in suggesting that the defendant’s motive was questionable, though her account was confirmed.
“The compliant witness has serious credibility issues,” Judge James Standon said, noting that he believed these cases “support the defendant’s claim that her motive was financial gain.”
Prosecutors said Batali sexually assaulted Natalie Tenney on April 1, 2017, at Towne Stove and Spirits in Boston. The bar that has since closed was located near the local outpost of Italy, the once partially owned Italian chain Batali.
Batali has vehemently denied the criminal behaviour, although at least four women have come out against the former TV chef and accused him of sexual misconduct since 2017. His defense team, who provided no witnesses, argued that Tinny had a material incentive to lie – indicating that she was seeking He received more than $50,000 in damages in a civil lawsuit against Batali.
“The Commonwealth asks you to convict someone for the words of an admitted liar. She will say whatever helps her at the moment,” defense attorney Tony Fuller said during closing arguments on Tuesday.
Tine, one of only two witnesses who testified at the trial on behalf of the prosecution, said what started with a surreptitious photograph of Batali ended in violence.
“It was all happening really fast and it was basically happening all the time,” Tenney said on Monday. “Just a lot of touch.”
Celebrity chef accused of sexual assault puts fate in the judge’s hands
When she took about 10 selfies with Batali after the chef noticed her trying to take a picture, Tinny told Judge James Stanto, the chef started touching her out of view of the camera. She also said that Patali’s eyes were closed in the majority of the photos, and claimed that “this guy is lost” at the time.
“His right hand covers my entire breast, all over my rear end, between my legs, holding me in a way I’ve never touched before like that—like squeezing between my legs, squeezing my vagina to pull me up and Tenny testified, noting that with the alleged assault,” I was really shocked, surprised, and stunned.”
During questioning, Tenney acknowledged that there was a three-minute gap between some of the photos. But she emphasized that Batali was “grabbing my ass” in at least one photo.
After the incident, Tenny testified, Batali suggested meeting him in his room at the Mandarin Oriental, a suggestion she said she rejected but which gave her “the chills”. Tine’s friend, Rachel Buckley, testified on Tuesday that Tine told her she had been assaulted in a conversation shortly after the incident.
“I think she was a little uncomfortable but she tried to make fun of it, like it wasn’t a big deal, and then I think it kind of shocked her as a big deal later,” Buckley told the judge, noting that Tenny said Batali touched her thighs, breasts, and thigh. .
Batali was forced to step down from his empire and leave the ABC cooking show and chew Accusations piled up against him.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
Get the Daily Beast’s biggest scoops and scandals straight to your inbox. Open an account now.
Stay informed and gain unlimited access to The Daily Beast’s unparalleled reporting. subscribe now.
