HE SHOULD HAVE CLAIMED HE WAS MUSLIM AND ALL CHARGES WOULD HAVE BEEN DROPPED AND THE COMPLAINT COVERED UP: Commuter who walked past actress at Waterloo station cleared of ‘bizarre’ sex assault claim: Mark Pearson may not even have made physical contact with woman in her 60s on busy concourse – but CPS approved sex assault charge.

A commuter has been cleared of sexually assaulting a well-known actress after a jury rejected claims the crime could have taken place in a brief half-second contact in a busy railway station.

Mark Pearson, a 51-year-old artist and picture framer, was accused of brushing against the actress, who cannot be named for legal reasons, in a mass of train passengers at London’s Waterloo station.

CCTV footage showed Mr Pearson, who was a complete stranger to the alleged victim, did not break his stride as he walked past the woman, who was heading to a rehearsal.

The defendant, who said he had endured a year-long “Kafkaesque nightmare” as a result of the complaint, blamed the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for forcing him to endure “mental torture” as a result of the charge.

A jury at Blackfriars Crown Court took 90 minutes to clear Mr Pearson of the charge of “sexual assault by penetration”, the Mail on Sunday newspaper said. . . .

There were no witnesses, no forensic evidence and the actress failed to pick out Mr Pearson in an identity parade of video images following the alleged incident in December 2014.

The actress was wearing a coat and jacket and a thin dress over “training pants” following a yoga class, the jury heard.

Mr Pearson, who was traced by police from his Oyster travel card records, told the newspaper: “‘One of the many frightening aspects is that this could have happened to anyone.

“For me, half a second turned into a year of hell. I feel I have undergone a form of mental torture sanctioned by the state.

The proper response to this is tar and feathers.