Robert Moore (pictured) was confronted by teachers concerned over how ‘unusually close’ he was to schoolgirls in central London
A highflying banker punched a teacher in the face when she chased him down The Mall after she allegedly spotted him ‘exposing himself’ while ‘filming schoolgirls’.
Robert Moore, 57, was confronted after two teachers became concerned over how ‘unusually close’ he was to four girls ages 12 to 14, who were on a school trip from Italy, on a bench in St James’s Park, central London.
The American, who flits between his £3million two-bed apartment in New York and a £1.3million London pad, was cross-legged with his mobile phone resting over his groin as he sat next to the students, Hammersmith Magistrates Court heard.
When teacher Timothy Dunkerley went around the back of the bench to inspect what Moore was doing he claims he saw Moore’s manhood loose from his shorts.
When questioned, Moore walked off before running down The Mall.
Mr Dunkerley’s wife and colleague, Nicole Dunkerley, gave chase and managed to grab hold of Moore – who then swung his closed fist to hit her in the mouth.
Police arrested Moore, who later admitted a charge of assault and a public order offence of using abusive words.
But Moore, who appeared in court today, denied a charge of exposure – which was dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service before trial due to witnesses from Italy failing to appear in court.
In a statement Moore denied deliberately exposing himself. He said: ‘I deny it, I was wearing loose fitting shorts and underwear.’
Moore, who appeared in court today (pictured), denied a charge of exposure – which was dropped before trial due to witnesses from Italy failing to appear in court
Sharon Michaels, prosecuting, said: ‘There was a large group, some 32 on a school trip. They were being taken to St James’s Park for lunch.
‘Around 1.30pm they noticed the defendant. He was not part of the group, he was sat alone. He was unusually close to four of the schoolgirls. He was sat cross-legged with a mobile phone close to his groin area.’
She added: ‘His phone was seized by the police and downloads were captured of videos, including footage of girls sitting in the park. It is not suggested it was in a sexual way.’
In her statement Mrs Dunkerley said: ‘He swung his arm around violently with a closed fist, hitting the top of my mouth, shouting: ‘Get off me.”
Mark Cotter QC, defending, said: ‘One of the teachers stated that they could see his penis. It was poking out from the bottom of his short shorts, because of that he was approached and some questions were asked of him.
‘There was a discussion, he walked off and was followed. He started to jog away and the female took hold of his collar.
‘He swung out with his hand and struck a female on the face.
When questioned by the teachers, Moore ran down The Mall in central London (pictured)
‘He said he did not deliberately expose himself. He was wearing loose fitting shorts and underwear. He entered a guilty plea for the common assault.’
He added: ‘He is a man of previous good character who is engaged with various charity work.’
Moore, who maintains there was no footage of the park schoolgirls on his phone, pleaded guilty to assaulting Mrs Dunkerley and using threatening behaviour on on July 12.
He was fined a total of £1,216 and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £60 victim surcharge – all of which he told magistrates he ‘could pay today’.