Ex-Chesterfield, AFC Fylde and Gloucester City manager James Rowe has been found not guilty of sexual assault following a trial.
The verdict came at Derby Crown Court, with a trial lasting just over five days, and lasting four hours and 17 minutes, the jury (consisting 6 men and 6 women) deliberating for over four hours before returning a majority verdict in four of Rowe.
Rowe was charged with one count of sexual assault stemming from an incident alleged to have occurred in November 2021. He had pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The trial was initially set for December 2023 but faced delays, ultimately being rescheduled for October 2024.
Throughout this period, Rowe’s career was significantly impacted; he was suspended by Chesterfield on the 24th of January 2022 following the allegations and left the club by mutual consent shortly thereafter.
Before his time at Chesterfield, Rowe had managed Gloucester City, and in 2022 took up a role at AFC Fylde, which he resigned from after being charged.
Rowe was appointed Chesterfield’s manager in November 2020 after leaving National League North side Gloucester City, taking over at the Spireites and guided them to sixth place in the National League in his first season before losing to Notts County in the playoffs.
He picked up 101 points from 50 matches in his first year as manager and also guided Chesterfield to the third round of the FA Cup where they played Chelsea, losing 5-1 to the Premier League side at Stamford Bridge in January 2022.
Rowe was appointed manager of AFC Fylde from March to September 2022, resigned from the National League North side after being charged with one count of sexual assault over an alleged incident from November 2021.
The not guilty verdict was delivered this week, marking the conclusion of a legal process that had implications for Rowe’s personal and professional life.
Despite the allegations and the subsequent trial, Rowe was cleared of the charge, allowing him to potentially focus on rebuilding his career in football management or other professional avenues.
James Rowe has been found not guilty of sexual assault.https://t.co/IZdnOKBxtP
— Liam Norcliffe (@LiamNorcliffe) October 17, 2024
Former @ChesterfieldFC Manager – James Rowe – has been cleared of sexual assault.
It’s after an alleged incident with a masseuse nearly 3 years ago.
Our Senior Reporter @ChrisDavisSmith is at #Derby Crown Court: pic.twitter.com/DGTDUs3U2Y
— Hits Radio News | South Yorkshire (@HitsSYorksNews) October 17, 2024
As reported by Derbyshire Times, when the verdict came in, Rowe’s family were heard shouting “yes” and “come one” while at the back of the court, before being warned by Judge Jonathan Bennett, who told them “you’ve done precisely what I asked you not to do.”
He told James Rowe: “Mr Rowe, you’ve been found not guilty, you are free to go.”
He added: “After the reaction from your family you must have thought you were back on the touchline.”
Rowe, who breathed a sigh of relief, was soon asked if he wanted to make a statement after the verdict, he said no.
The alleged assault was said to have happened on the 24th of November 2021, with Rowe said to have requested a “back massage” at a private salon, the trial heard.
Rowe, a father of two, of Blind Lane in Breaston, denied sexual assault on a 43 year old female.
Opening the case on the 7th of October, Gurdial Singh, prosecuting, said in November 2021 that Chesterfield were “flying high” and “in prime position for a play off place” when Rowe got in touch with a “lighthearted” message asking the complainant for a massage.
Mr Singh said during the consultation that Rowe “got his penis out and tried and hit her hand with it” despite the victim’s protestations.
She went out of the room, having been upset, then came back in, Rowe then asked her to sit on a stool at the height of his penis “for obvious reasons”, said Mr Singh.
The barrister said: ”He then kept putting his hand on the inside of her leg, she kept removing it and putting it back on the bed.
“He then said he wanted to look at her tattoo and pulled at the waistband of her trousers to get a look. He also tried to undo her tunic to have a look at her breasts, saying “go on, let me just see your t**s. You’ve got massive t**ts”.
The court heard she later told her co-workers about the incident, while also telling a client, a police sergeant, a few weeks later in December.
The jury were told that in the lead-up to the massage, Rowe sent her a “flurry” of “flirty” Whatsapp messages, the evening before the alleged assault, on the 23rd of November, with one of those where he questioned if she was a “private” person and another in which he asked if she was wearing “Frenchies or a thong”.
The complainant claimed that she told James Rowe that his advances weren’t what she wanted, then before he left the premises on the 24th of November, he made her delete all of the messages between them from her phone.
Defence barrister Mr Eguae said to the woman that she was “categorically lying” about the Whatsapp conversation between her and James Rowe on November 2023, the proof being that in the same evening, James Rowe was at Chesterfield v Altrincham.
He said: “I suggest to you during the evening of November 23 you were not in message communications with Mr Rowe. I suggest the reason is Mr Rowe was standing on the touchline of Chesterfield FC as they played Altrincham.”
“You’re wrong,” said the complainant, adding: “I sent him a message saying ‘please keep it professional’”.
Then jury heard that he also asked her to give “attention” to his “groin”, saying this after initially asking to get his back massaged.
The complainant said to the court when giving evidence: “He said he wanted his groin doing, he was changing it. If I knew that I would never have agreed to it. You don’t get mixed up between the back and the groin.”
Mr Eguae told the complainant he believed that while massaging the top of Rowe’s thigh she had touched his privates, causing Rowe to get “aroused”.
He said: “I suggest he didn’t stop you from doing what you were doing – I suggest you pulled his briefs down.”
“You’re wrong”, said the complainant.
The barrister then said to her that she had given Rowe oral sex before a noise outside the room quickly ending it, causing Rowe to “pull his boxer shorts up”.
Upon hearing all of the evidence, the jury believed his version of events over hers.
A former client of the complainant also gave evidence during the trial, saying when she asked why the masseuse had not reported Rowe, she replied she’d be “hated” and “it will be my word against his”.
It was only a week when the complainant spoke of what had allegedly happened, with it then reported to the police.
In her evidence, the former client then said the complainant told her if it got out she would be “hated” and said she didn’t have any proof.
A colleague also spoke in the trial, saying that Rowe had been still in the massage room on the 24th of November when the complainant returning “upset and shook up”.
“I asked if she was Ok. She said ‘no’ and went back into the room.”
She didn’t say anything else about why she was upset, just “I’ll see you tomorrow”.
Speaking about the following day, when the complainant shared what had allegedly happened, the witness said: “She looked like she didn’t want to say anything and looked upset.
“When I asked why she didn’t tell us she said she wanted to stay professional and didn’t know what to do.”
Giving evidence, James Rowe was asked by his barrister Peter Eguae, as reported by Derby Telegraph: “What was being arrested like?”
To which he said: “I have never been arrested before so it was shocking. They came in a riot van and seven police officers stormed into my house.
“They said it was concerning a serious allegation and in those four days (following my arrest) I was trying to find out (information) from the players. It was on social media and the news and there were references to my family and messages of abuse. It was a traumatic time and the hate crime was the worst time of my life.
“I literally got suspended out of the blue, a lot happened in my life in those four days and I felt scared and worried about what was going to happen. I felt like the rug had been pulled from under my feet.
“I have been suspended by Chesterfield and there were false reports in the media which prejudiced my case. (I just thought) ‘what’s going on?’ I was scared, it was the worst time of my life.”
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