Description
A barrister who sexually assaulted his colleague during a night out in Bristol has been disbarred.
Kevin Farquharson, 45, groped the womans breasts and then asked her to lie to prevent his fiancee finding out, the Bar Tribunal and Adjudication Service heard.
He repeatedly touched the woman's breasts and buttocks on the dance floor and at one point forcibly held her arms by her sides and told her to kiss him, it was told.
The victim, referred to as A, asked him what the f*** he was doing and said he refused to stop.
After he eventually stumbled back home at 4am, Farquharson was confronted by his furious partner, demanding to know what he had been up to.
The following evening, Farquharson sent the woman a text message saying: Would you help me by responding to my text tomorrow by simply stating, We lost sight of you at about 1:45. You left after you had a run in with one of the bouncers. I hope you are feeling OK.
The victim was only able to escape Farquharsons forceful advances when the staff at Kongs bar in Bristol city centre stepped in to help and had him removed from the venue on the night in September 2019.
In March 2021, Farquharson was found guilty of sexual assault and was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for 18 months. He was also ordered to pay the victim 1,800 and was put on the sexual offenders list for seven years.
Mark Ruffell, for the Bar Standards Board, said: This is a sad case from start to finish.
On the one hand, we have a young lady who was great friends with the respondent, no doubt saw him most days in a professional context, and it is fair to say they were friends.
For good reasons, as people do, they decided to go out, let their hair down on the evening and then sadly through drink the events took place.
Mr Ruffell added that at one point he went against her back at the bar, touching her vaginal area over her clothes to the point where she had to wriggle free.
One of the bartenders reportedly advised the victim to take shelter in the female toilets while security removed Farquharson.
He texted a second colleague later that weekend, asking the colleague to tell his fiancee that he was with him should she call.
The tribunal chair, Judge Witold Pawlak, found all the charges proved and ordered that Farquharson be disbarred, and pay 2,100 in costs.