John Leslie 'deserves to live in peace' after not guilty verdict, says Jane Moore
John Leslie's former This Morning co-star has become the latest big name to jump to his defence after he was found not guilty of sexual assault
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John Leslie's close pal and former colleague Jane Moore has added her name to the list of celebs defending him after he was found not guilty in his sexual assault trial.
Former Blue Peter presenter Leslie broke down in tears in the dock when he was found not guilty of sexual guilty on Monday at London's Southwark Crown Court.
He had always denied the alleged assault, which was claimed to have taken place in 2008, the jury taking just 23 minutes to reach its verdict.
A charity fundraiser had claimed Leslie had groped her breasts at a Christmas party in a London bar.
Leslie told the court that he didn't recognise her, remember meeting her or being at the event.
He also said that he had never sexually assaulted anyone.
John left his gig at This Morning in the early noughties after the publication of Ulrika Jonsson's 2002 autobiography, in which she claimed she had been raped at the age of 19.
Jonsson never named her attacker, but Channel 5's Matthew Wright mistakenly blurted out Leslie's name.
Leslie has always denied it, and Wright apologised to him and admitted it was an error.
In 2003, Leslie was cleared on two charges of assaulting a woman in 1997.
And in 2017, he was cleared of sexual assault after being accused of putting his hand down the back of a woman's trousers.
Leslie even told how the allegation had him at one point considering taking his own life.
Now Moore, who briefly hosted This Morning with Leslie, has taken to her Sun column to defend him.
"Time, surely, to now let him live the rest of his life in peace?" Moore writes, having listed Leslie's numerous clearings.
She also touches on Leslie's personality, telling that he was always: "He was always great fun, very respectful, and had impeccable manners - opening doors, never talking over me and generally being very protective of all his female colleagues whenever we were out socialising in public.
"Yes, he liked to party and his designer house was very much a bachelor pad, but he was tall, handsome, charismatic and on the telly, so there were plenty of women interested in him."
But following Wright's blunder, Moore tells that Leslie, who had always been "ebullient and tactile in a non-threatening way", became "subdued and cautious."
Moore isn't the only celeb to defend Leslie.
Anthea Turner, Diane Louise Jordan, Yvette Fielding and Fern Britton all gave evidence is his defence during his trial.
And following the not guilty verdict, an overjoyed Turner penned: "Unbelievable relief for our amazing gentle giant of a friend, but personal anger that he has had his life ripped apart over the years."
MirrorCeleb