Calum Best is set to appear in court in Spain over alleged sexual assault at Wayne Lineker’s famous club in Ibiza.
Spanish state prosecutors have since called for the maximum sentence, which currently stands at three years in prison, if the three trial judges convict him as charged.
Calum, who is the chairman of Dorking Wanderers FC’s women’s team and has since denied any wrongdoing.
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The 42-year-old reality TV star, who won ITV's Celebrity Love Island alongside 2006 with Bianca Gascoigne and has starred in two series of Celebrity Big Brother, was held in April 2022 over an incident at the O Beach Club which was never made public at the time.
The beach club, which is located in the Ibizan party resort of San Antonio is owned by the TV personality’s friend, Wayne Lineker, brother of Match of the Day host, Gary.
At the time, Calum was allowed to leave the holiday island after spending one day in custody while a criminal probe which resulted in his prosecution and today’s trial continued.
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According to a pre-trial indictment drafted by Spanish state prosecutors, his alleged sex crime happened on the evening of April 22 in 2022.
The two-page indictment accuses Calum, who was born in San Jose in California, of kissing a female tourist he had argued with moments earlier over photos she had taken before 'grabbing her hand and putting it on his privates, under his trousers, while he told her 'Feel This'.
Prosecutors say both actions were motivated by his aim of 'satisfying his sexual desire'.
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His female accuser, a British holidaymaker who was at the beach club with friends, said she removed her hand immediately and left the venue in a state of 'shock and confusion'.
She has been called to give evidence at Calum’s trial and is expected to testify via videoconference.
Calum has since been charged with a crime of sexual assault under Spanish law, which is punishable by between one and three years in prison.
As well as the maximum jail sentence possible, Spanish state prosecutors want him served with a restraining order preventing him from going within 100 metres of the woman he is accused of targeting and trying to contact her for five years.
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Alongside this, the officials also want him banned from working with minors for eight years if he is convicted as charged.
The final verdict will be decided by three professional judges rather than a jury as jurors are not used for sex crime trials in Spain. The trial is expected to start and finish today (9 January).
Tyla has reached out to both Calum Best and Wayne Lineker's representatives for comment.
Rhiannon Ingle