Woman tells sex assault trial she was left ‘frozen in shock’ by millionaire tech investor

A woman was left ‘frozen in shock’ after a millionaire tech investor pushed himself up against her bottom as she loaded a dishwasher, a jury heard.

German-born Stefan Glaenzer, 61, is accused of sexually assaulting the woman as she put her dirty dishes into the machine at offices in Notting Hill, west London, on June 9, 2021.

Giving evidence from behind a screen the alleged victim told jurors at Isleworth Crown Court she ‘felt a pressure come up behind her’ as she put plates in the washer.

The venture capitalist, who holds stocks in Monzo and start-up Marshmallow, denies sexual assault. 

The woman said she hadn’t known what to do when she felt a pressure and ‘male genitals’ behind her on the day of the alleged assault.  

‘I get to about the fourth plate and I could feel a pressure come up behind me.

‘I felt a leg…as soon as I felt the pressure of the leg, I instantly felt a presence behind my body.’

‘What did you feel?’ asked the prosecutor.

‘I felt male genitals,’ she replied.

She said it was a ‘firm nudge’ for approximately two seconds and that she couldn’t see what was happening behind her at the time of the alleged attack. 

‘You describe a presence, and you said you felt male genitals, can you help us to whether that was light touching, medium touching, or forceful touching?’ asked Mr Olivares-Chandler.

‘It was a medium touch… a firm nudge,’ the witness said.

Prosecutor Jose Olivares-Chandler asked her: ‘This was something you felt through clothing?’

The woman replied: ‘Yes.’

‘At that stage could you see what was happening behind you?’ asked Mr Olivares-Chandler

‘No,’ she replied.

‘For how long, do you say, you felt the firm nudge of male genitals behind you?’ asked Mr Olivares-Chandler.

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‘I felt it for about a good two seconds,’ she replied.

‘On what part of your body did you feel it for a good two seconds?’ said Mr Olivares-Chandler

‘My bottom,’ she said.

The prosecutor asked: ‘When you felt that pressure what was going through your mind?’

The woman replied: ‘I was frozen in shock I couldn’t quite believe what I had felt.

‘The pressure behind me then moved to my right side and I was still bent over and then that happened and so as I was in shock, I rose up to my full length again… and I turned to my right.

‘I saw a man next to me.

‘As I looked at him without any eye contact form him he looked straight ahead holding his mug in his hand he almost directed his head in my direction but didn’t look at me.’

Mr Olivares-Chandler asked the witness: ‘What happened after you looked at him?’

She replied: ‘I just remember looking at his mouth moving at the time; I couldn’t focus because I was in shock, I looked at his mouth and he said: “Oh so sorry about that,” without looking at me.’

The woman said she responded ‘politely’ and told him it was ‘ok’. 

When asked why she’d said it was ‘ok’, the woman said she hadn’t known how to respond. 

 ‘I didn’t know what else to say in that moment. I’m not a confrontational person, I didn’t know what to say [or do] other than get away from the situation so I just said ‘that’s ok’

She said she told a female colleague about the alleged incident and she was encouraged to work in a different part of the building for the rest of the day.

The following day her manager arranged a meeting and encouraged her to describe the male who had allegedly assaulted her and point him out to her.

Glaenzer is a co-founder of Passion Capital, one of the country’s leading tech investors.

Passion’s venture capital investments include the app-based bank Monzo and the insurance start-up Marshmallow.

The German-born entrepreneur, who has a home in Kensington Park Gardens, denies sexual assault.

The trial continues.