Sil Fox: Photos being ‘splashed all over papers’ after court appearances 'isn't right’
by Stephen McNeiceComedian Sil Fox, who has been cleared of sexual assault, says it's 'not right' that photographs of him were 'splashed all over the papers' after his court appearances over the past year.
A judge today acquitted Mr Fox (87) of charges of sexually assaulting a woman who had claimed he had touched her while taking a photograph in December 2018.
The comedian told The Hard Shoulder he is 'over the moon' after being cleared, and that he 'wasn't expecting' any different result.
Sil Fox: Photos being ‘splashed all over papers’ after court appearances 'isn't right’
Mr Fox said that he doesn't believe his court should have ever gone to the DPP or to court.
He said: "It took a terrible old strain on my health.
"To formally hear the end of it... it was like I was an astronaut and had just landed on the moon."
Mr Fox said he first heard about the incident around two months after it was alleged to have occurred.
He explained: "There's been around four or five court appearances... every time I'm there, I'm splashed all over all the papers.
"It's not right... the person who is charging, they're not in it. Why is that? People are reading the paper and immediately they make their own decision and say 'ah this fella's guilty'... it shouldn't be like that."
Talking about his experience over the past year, the comedian told Ivan: "It could happen to anybody.
"If someone comes over and says you're after putting your hand on me, you say 'hold on, I didn't'... and then all of a sudden you're in court trying to defend yourself, for no reason?"
Mr Fox said many of his gigs were cancelled after the allegations emerged, and that "nobody wanted" to know him.
He told Ivan: "I could hardly sleep at night... I'd lost interest in everything. I couldn't get my mind down to play golf, and I'm an ardent golfer.
"My life was completely changed, and also the fact that I wasn't working... I wasn't doing anything comedy [related]. I didn't even look up gags while I was going through all this."
The comedian says he's now hoping he has the incentive to start focusing on comedy again.
He said: "I'm hoping that most of the people I knew... I hope they'll think of me, and bring me back if I want to."