Pascal Molliere, 52, (pictured outside court) has been found not guilty of two counts of sexual assault

A top theatre photographer collapsed in the dock after he was cleared by a jury of groping two aspiring actresses.

Pascal Molliere, 52, was accused of sexually assaulting the women in his studio in Fulham, south west London after he was recommended to them by top casting directors.

During separate photoshoots, Molliere was said to have kissed the women and groped the bare breast of one of them after asking them to remove their clothing.

Molliere, who has taken portraits of screen legends Dame Judi Dench and Sir Ian McKellen, vehemently denied the claims.

He said it would have been difficult with cameras hanging around his neck, telling the court: 'If you've got two kilos of camera around your neck, by the end of the day you'd know about it, even a two hour shoot - absolutely not.'

The photographer was cleared of two charges of sexual assault after a retrial at Southwark Crown Court on Friday.

Molliere collapsed into his chair in the dock sobbing and remained unresponsive even after Judge Nicholas Loraine-Smith said he was free to go.

The judge said: ‘He’s possibly not up to it right now, we’ll leave him to it.’

Molliere eventually left visibly shaken by the experience.

Molliere collapsed into his chair in the dock sobbing and remained unresponsive even after Judge Nicholas Loraine-Smith said he was free to go after being found not guilty

Speaking after his acquittal he said: 'Whilst I deplore any kind of violence or assault, against anyone, male or female, sometimes people tell lies, which can destroy someone’s life forever even before a story has been tested.

'Whatever the ‘burden of proof’ every allegation must always be thoroughly examined, tested and scrutinised from a starting point of innocent, before deciding ‘if the shoe fits’, and someone’s life is destroyed.

'If a system cannot be relied upon to prove or disprove an allegation with equal measure, then we all need to be extremely careful how we interact with one another, which will make for a very disconnected, fearful and sad society.

'It will take time for me to try and rebuild my life, if I even can. My career, my name, even some of my relationships have been irreparably damaged as a result of lies.'

'It’s time to bring back some common sense.'

Questioned in court about one of the alleged assaults he told his barrister: 'I really do detest liars, you know as well as I do that nothing happened in that shoot.'

In cross examination prosecutor Margia Mostafa asked: 'These photos are really for your titillation aren't they?'

Molliere said: 'Nonsense.'

Ms Mostafa said: 'I'm going to suggest to you that after you asked her to remover her bra, that you touched her breast.'

Molliere replied: 'That's wrong, that's absolutely wrong - it's a lie.'

Molliere, of Surbiton, Surrey, denied and was cleared by the jury of two counts of sexual assault.