A peer and one of the UK's top Paralympic swimmers touched a masseuse's bottom and asked if she "did extras", a trial has heard.

Lord Christopher Holmes of Richmond, 48, denies a charge of sexual assault against the masseuse at a five-star hotel on 7 March last year.

Image: Lord Christopher Holmes of Richmond is one of Britain's most successful British Paralympic swimmers

Prosecutor Linda Strudwick told jurors at Southwark Crown Court that Holmes assaulted the woman, who cannot be named, near the end of his 90-minute treatment.

She said Holmes asked to see how the woman looked and she "assumed [she meant] whether he could touch her face".

Ms Strudwick said the woman agreed, "thinking that this was what blind people do", and Holmes admitted touching the woman on her face, shoulders and sides before resting his hands around her hips.


Jurors were told she then tried to move away, but "Mr Holmes stopped her by grabbing her buttocks".

The court heard he said "nice" and asked if he could touch her breasts.

"He asked if she 'did extras', pointing to his crotch," Ms Strudwick said.

"She said 'No, I am a professional' and he said 'Are you sure you've never done it?'"

The blind nine-time swimming champion sat behind his barrister with his guide dog, Nancy, for the start of his trial on Wednesday.

Despite taking up a role in the House of Lords in 2013 he was referred to in court as Mr Holmes.

The court heard he previously told the woman "she could go higher if she wanted to" when she was massaging his left thigh.

The prosecution alleged the incident "was a deliberate sexual assault, or sexual touching... Mr Holmes, we say, wanted more than a massage".

Ms Strudwick said Holmes took advantage of embarrassment some people feel over how to act around blind people.

"He thought that, if he was not successful in his bid for sexual release, he could talk his way out of it," she said.

Holmes denied grabbing her, pointing towards his groin or asking for sexual services.

In a statement heard in court, Holmes told police he only lightly touched her.

"It is obviously a bit strange to be massaged by someone without knowing what they look like," it read.

"As I am basing my recollection only on touch, I cannot be sure exactly where my hands rested but there was absolutely no intention to touch her in a sexual way. It was purely to give me an idea of her appearance."

The trial continues.