Celebrity chef Mario Batali acquitted of sexual misconduct

By Associated Press

BOSTON: Mario Batali was discovered not responsible of indecent assault and battery on Tuesday, following a swift trial during which the movie star chef waived his proper to have a jury determine his destiny in a legal case that arose from the worldwide #MeToo motion in opposition to sexual abuse and harassment.

The 61-year-old former Food Network persona shortly strode out of the courtroom together with his attorneys with out commenting on the case, which centered on allegations that he aggressively kissed and groped a Boston lady whereas taking a selfie at a bar in 2017.

In delivering the decision, Boston Municipal Court Judge James Stanton agreed with Batali’s attorneys that the accuser had credibility points and that photographs instructed the encounter was amicable. “Pictures are worth a thousand words,” he mentioned.

But the choose additionally rebuked Batali whereas suggesting the previous star of reveals like “Molto Mario” and “Iron Chef America” has already paid “a high cost” when it comes to his diminished status and monetary losses.

“It’s an understatement to say that Mr. Batali did not cover himself in glory on the night in question,” Stanton mentioned after prosecutors argued he was visibly drunk within the photographs. His conduct, his look and his demeanor weren’t befitting of a public individual of his stature at the moment.”

Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden mentioned he was dissatisfied within the verdict however grateful Batali’s accuser had come ahead.

“It can be incredibly difficult for a victim to disclose a sexual assault,” he mentioned in an announcement. “When the individual who committed such an abhorrent act is in a position of power or celebrity, the decision to report an assault can become all the more challenging and intimidating.”

Batali, who pleaded not responsible to indecent assault and battery in 2019, took a calculated gamble that Stanton, a former Republican candidate for state consultant appointed to the bench by Republican Gov. Charlie Baker, would rule extra favorably than a Boston jury.

Seeking a non-jury, or bench trial, is usually a technique employed when a defendant can come throughout as unlikeable to jurors.

Such was the case for Michelle Carter, the Massachusetts teen infamously charged with manslaughter for urging her suicidal boyfriend to kill himself in textual content messages and who was the topic of “The Girl from Plainville,” a 2022 Hulu present starring Elle Fanning.

In Carter’s case, although, the technique didn’t pan out and she or he was convicted and sentenced to greater than a 12 months in jail. Batali confronted as much as 2 1/2 years in jail and would’ve been required to register as a intercourse offender if convicted.

His accuser, who additionally exited the courtroom with out talking with reporters, had testified how she felt confused and powerless to do something to cease Batali on the time.

But in his closing statements, Batali’s lawyer Antony Fuller portrayed the 32-year-old Boston-area resident as an “admitted liar” who’s financially motivated as a result of she’s filed a lawsuit in search of greater than $50,000 in damages from Batali.

“In her world, truth is a flexible concept,” he mentioned, referencing the lady’s current admission of making an attempt to keep away from jury service by claiming to be clairvoyant, which was a spotlight of the two-day trial.

Prosecutor Nina Bonelli countered in her closing assertion that Batali’s attorneys had been making an attempt to “demonize” the lady, when it was their consumer on trial over his conduct. She mentioned the lady tried to “de-escalate” the undesirable touching by merely “smiling it off” within the photographs.

“The kissing, the groping. She never asked for it. She never consented to it,” she mentioned. “She just wanted a selfie.”

Batali was arguably essentially the most distinguished chef and restauranteur charged with sexual misconduct on the peak of the #MeToo motion, which notably roiled the meals and beverage trade.

After 4 girls accused him of inappropriate touching in 2017, he stepped down from day-to-day operations at his restaurant empire and left the since-discontinued ABC cooking present “The Chew.” Batali additionally apologized, acknowledging the allegations “match up” with the methods he has acted.

“I have made many mistakes,” he mentioned in an electronic mail e-newsletter on the time. “My behavior was wrong and there are no excuses. I take full responsibility.”

Last 12 months, Batali, his enterprise associate and their New York City restaurant firm agreed to pay $600,000 to resolve a four-year investigation by the New York lawyer normal’s workplace into allegations that Batali and different employees sexually harassed staff.

In Boston, he had opened a department of the favored Italian meals market Eataly and a Babbo Pizzeria e Enoteca within the metropolis’s Seaport District. But he has since been purchased out of his stake in Eataly, and the Babbo restaurant in Boston has closed.