A business owner underwent a year-long ordeal with the Metropolitan Police due to an incident in a hotel bar. The situation arose when he tapped a male waiter on the back to prevent a collision.
Simon Correia, a father of two, faced legal action after being wrongly accused of inappropriate touching following an awards ceremony at London’s Park Plaza Riverbank hotel.
Surveillance footage clearly indicates that the 48-year-old Mr. Correia briefly placed his hand on the waiter’s back as a precaution to avoid any accidents while the waiter was carrying a tray of beverages.
But even after viewing the footage and admitting it did not show what the accuser had described, a Met Police officer arrested the married company director, threw him in a cell for 15 hours and charged him with sexual assault.
The false allegation triggered a horrific year-long legal saga which cost Mr Correia £10,000 in fees and devastated his family.
His nightmare only came to an end on February 6 this year when, after seeing the CCTV footage, a judge threw the case out of court, saying it ‘wholly contradicted’ the waiter’s account.
Yet despite being cleared of any wrongdoing, Mr Correia, from Liverpool, and his wife Clare, 45, say they are yet to receive an apology from either the Met or the Crown Prosecution Service – or an explanation for why the case was ever allowed to proceed to trial.
Last night, speaking exclusively to The Mail on Sunday, Mr Correia, who feared he would be placed on the sex offenders register, broke down while describing his ordeal.
Father-of-two Simon Correia, 48, (right) was hauled before the courts after being falsely accused of intimately groping and touching the waiter’s bottom. Right, his wife Clare, 45
CCTV footage clearly shows, from multiple angles, that Mr Correia momentarily placed his hand on the back of the man – who was holding a tray of drinks – to warn him not to step backwards
Two officers took a statement from the waiter, who claimed Mr Correia had groped him and used a finger to penetrate him
He said: ‘At some points I thought I was going to take my life. I would never do it, but I was so panicked about my business and about how people would perceive me – I’ve never been in trouble in my life and then suddenly I’d been accused of something I hadn’t done by this horrible individual.’
‘It was like this evil spell had been cast over us.’
The couple now want recognition from both the Met and the CPS of what Mr Correia was put through – and for his accuser to face justice for making false allegations.
Mrs Correia said: ‘The CPS and the Met, who have allowed this to happen, have given not one apology. They’ve all just tried to cover their back and they’ve allowed a dangerous man to walk free.’
Mr Correia, the director of luxury watch brand Escudo, had been shortlisted for the Family Business of the Year award by the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and had travelled with Clare to the capital in February last year for the ceremony.
When the event finished, the couple went to the hotel’s Chino Latino bar where, after chatting with other business leaders, Mr Correia sat with his wife at a table where a waiter was setting down drinks.
Aware the waiter was facing away from him, Mr Correia lightly tapped the man on the back to make him aware of his presence.
Recalling the moment, he said: ‘I put my phone down and then said, “Cheers mate”, while I tapped him on the back and then sat straight down in my chair behind him. That was it. It was innocent and was just a warning of, “I’m behind you, I’m just letting you know”.’
CCTV footage then shows the waiter calmly continuing to put drinks on the table.
The footage shows Mr Correia walking over towards the waiter
He is seen coming up behind him to make him aware of his presence
The waiter can be seen calmly serving drinks while Mr Correia is sat down with his hands to himself
Even after viewing the footage and admitting it did not show what the accuser had described, a Met Police officer arrested the married company director, threw him in a cell for 15 hours and charged him with sexual assault
The false allegation triggered a horrific year-long legal saga which cost Mr Correia £10,000 in fees and devastated his family
When the event finished, the couple went to the hotel’s Chino Latino bar where, after chatting with other business leaders, Mr Correia sat with his wife at a table where a waiter was setting down drinks
Speaking exclusively to The Mail on Sunday, Mr Correia, who feared he would be placed on the sex offenders register, broke down while describing his ordeal
Just over an hour later, the bar manager told Mr Correia that a staff member (pictured) had accused him of sexual assault
A female officer’s bodycam video, seen by the MoS, reveals she then watched the incident on the hotel’s CCTV
Just over an hour later, the bar manager told Mr Correia that a staff member had accused him of sexual assault.
Mr Correia said: ‘I was thinking, it’s got to be a prank – I honestly did. In the back of my mind I was hoping someone was going to go, “Got ya!”, but it just became more real the longer it went on.’
Two officers took a statement from the waiter, who claimed Mr Correia had groped him and used a finger to penetrate him.
A female officer’s bodycam video, seen by the MoS, reveals she then watched the incident on the hotel’s CCTV.
Significantly, it captures her saying, ‘That’s not what he’s just described’ – a reference to the waiter’s lurid allegations.
Despite this, she arrested Mr Correia and took him to Brixton Police Station, where he was locked in a cell. Fifteen hours later, he was charged with sexual assault and left in limbo until the trial.
But despite their torment, at the trial, on February 6, 2025, at Inner London Crown Court, the judge threw it out almost immediately, saying the waiter’s allegations were ‘wholly contradicted by the CCTV footage’.
Mr Correia’s barrister Charlotte Godber said it was her ‘shortest ever Crown Court trial’ at just one hour and 56 minutes.
‘I just completely broke down and couldn’t stop crying,’ Mr Correia said.
‘Some of the jury members were even crying and coming up to me to shake my hand.’
Despite being cleared of any wrongdoing, Mr Correia, from Liverpool, and his wife say they are yet to receive an apology from either the Met or the Crown Prosecution Service
But despite their torment, at the trial, on February 6, 2025, at Inner London Crown Court, the judge threw it out almost immediately, saying the waiter’s allegations were ‘wholly contradicted by the CCTV footage’
The incident followed a black-tie awards ceremony held at London ’s Park Plaza Riverbank hotel
After reviewing the footage, a female officer said: That’s not what he’s just described’ – a reference to the waiter’s lurid allegations
The father is seen stood behind the waiter
It was found CCTV footage did not match the waiter’s version of events that he was groped
Mr Correia’s business partner and stepfather, Richard Johnson, 77, described the case as a ‘waste of public money and time’ which ‘failed the entire criminal justice system’.
Meanwhile, his accuser, a Muslim man who has legal anonymity as the ‘victim’ of a sex crime and who told police his ‘religion is very sensitive to this sort of thing’, has faced no repercussions for making a false accusation.
‘The worst part is, he’s still out there and he’s not had any punishment for lying to the police and then lying in court,’ Mr Correia said.
‘I just want to warn other people about how easily something like this can happen. If it can happen to me it can happen to anyone.’
A Met Police spokesman said: ‘We have a duty to investigate allegations of crime when it is reported to us.
‘This matter was assessed and then proportionately investigated by officers. Police authorised a charge and then the case was passed to the Crown Prosecution Service.’
A CPS spokesman said: ‘We recognise the toll the criminal process can take on both defendants and complainants, and we have written to Mr Correia to explain our decision-making in this case.’
