Top judge charged with exposure

12 April 2012

One of Britain's most senior judges has been charged with exposure, British Transport Police (BTP) said.

Lord Justice Richards, who sits in the Court of Appeal, was arrested on January 19 following a complaint from a female train passenger that a man exposed himself to her.

A BTP spokesman said he was charged with two counts of exposure relating to two separate incidents on trains in south-west London last year.

Sir Stephen Richards, 56, a married father-of-three, was bailed to appear at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court on March 8.

The judge, who lives in Wimbledon, south west London, was arrested by BTP following an undercover operation. He was released on bail and charged when he reported to Ebury Bridge police station.

After his arrest in January Sir Stephen insisted he was innocent. At the time he told the News of the World: "I spoke to police and gave them my full cooperation about an incident last October which I deny. I have not been charged and have been bailed in the usual manner."

The judge has overseen a number of high profile hearings, and in January ruled in a High Court case brought by the family of Jean Charles de Menezes, the Brazilian gunned down by armed police who mistook him for a suicide bomber.

He married wife Lucy in 1976 and has two sons and a daughter. Educated at King's College School, Wimbledon and St John's College Oxford, he was called to the bar in 1975 and became a High Court Judge in 1997 before becoming a Lord Justice of Appeal in 2005.

Sir Stephen has also served as deputy chairman of the Boundary Commission for Wales. He lists his recreations as walking and relaxing in the Welsh hills.

In a statement, the Judicial Communications Office said: "The Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice have been made aware of the charges against Lord Justice Richards. The judge will not be sitting, pending the outcome of the proceedings. The Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice do not comment on individual cases before the courts."

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