Girls Aloud singer guilty of assault
A jury has cleared Girls Aloud singer Sheryl Tweedy of racially aggravated assault but found her guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
The jury at Kingston Crown Court reached the unanimous verdict that she was not guilty of a racially aggravated assault occasioning actual bodily harm but voted 11 to one to find her guilty of the alternative charge.
The judge Richard Haworth told the jury before they retired to consider their verdict that they had to decide whether Miss Tweedy had acted in self-defence, as there was no question that 39-year-old Sophie Amogbokpa had been injured in the incident.
The Popstars: The Rivals winner was accused of attacking the toilet attendant on a night out with her band.
Tweedy, 20, punched law student, Ms Amogbokpa, following a row over some lollipops Tweedy had failed to leave a tip for.
The punch-up occurred in the toilets at The Drink nightclub in Guildford, Surrey, on January 11th.
The singer will be sentenced in November. She is expected to receive community service for the crime.
Tweedy vehemently denied calling Ms Amogbokpa a “f…ing black bitch” but admitted punching her, giving her a black eye.
She also insisted that the attendant had thrown the first punch and she had merely been acting in self-defence.
Tweedy from Heaton, Newcastle, claims to have been reaching into her bag to get money when she was hit.
During the trial, the nightclub’s head of security claimed in court that Tweedy had made racist remarks following the altercation.
