Pilates instructor Katie Surridge (pictured above) has been seen for this first time since Philip Green was charged
The mother-of-three who accused Sir Philip Green of ‘vigorously spanking her bottom’, has been pictured for the first time since the 67-year-old was charged with assault.
Katie Surridge was pictured with her husband Josh in Arizona, as police interviews allege that Green may have also inappropriately touched two other women.
Sir Philip Green has been charged with four counts of misdemeanour assault in the US, following the 37-year-old pilate instructor’s claims.
Pima County Attorney’s Office, Arizona, revealed that the fashion mogul faces allegations that could see him jailed or fined.
He stands accused of repeatedly assaulting 37-year-old Ms Surridge, who says Sir Philip spanked and grabbed her backside during classes in the Canyon Ranch luxury resort in Tucson in 2016 and 2018.
The mother-of-three said in a police interview that the ‘creepy old man’ had ‘vigorously’ slapped her bottom up to 10 times in January 2016, later adding that he had made her feel ‘almost like a prostitute’.
Katie Surridge was pictured with her husband Josh (right) after documents were revealed detailing Philip Green’s behavior (Philip Green, left)
The couple walked hand in hand in Arizona after Ms Surridge revealed extracts from a 56-page transcript
According to The Sun, documents show that Ms Surridge said: ‘Last time it was, like, six girls from Switzerland. They’re all in their 20-somethings and they’re, you know, cute, blonde girls wanderin’ around with him, taking sessions and getting massages, and having, you know, their spa time.’
The claims were revealed in a 56-page transcript, which also detail that Ms Surridge saw Green slap the bottom of a woman bending over near gym equipment.
She added: ‘He comes into the room and goes, ‘Oh you put her in this position just for me, didn’t you? You naughty girl.’ And he comes in and slaps her ass very fiercely.’
She also claimed that she told her bosses that he grabbed another woman’s bottom on a treadmill.
The pilates instructor (pictured) has alleged that the Arcadia fashion mogul touched her inappropriately
Ms Surridge (left and right) claimed that she told her bosses that Green grabbed another woman’s bottom
Sir Philip has strenuously denied the allegations, as his lawyers said that ‘there is no allegation of any sexual assault or misconduct made by the prosecution.’
It comes after Lord Hain said in the House of Lords that Sir Philip has had hundreds of grievance claims lodged against him, including grabbing breasts and slapping bottoms.
Ms Surridge, with her husband Josh, above, said Green had made uncomfortable comments
Ms Surridge has said she was worried about frustrating a ‘high roller’ at the resort but decided to speak to management, who said they spoke to Sir Philip and reassured her it would not happen again.
But she told police that Sir Philip came back for another class in January 2018.
‘This time, instead of slapping my butt, he puts his hands, like, he wraps his hands around my waist and then grabs my butt cheek and just puts his hand there and just holds it there as he’s hugging me,’ she said.
He went on to make uncomfortable comments and pat her exposed stomach as she demonstrated an exercise, she alleged.
‘And then the session ended and I immediately went upstairs to (management’s) office and I was in tears and I said, ‘He was told never to touch me again and here he is touching me again’,’ she told police.
A court date has been set for June 19 when Green will enter a plea. But the 67-year-old will not be expected to attend the hearing and the charges will be dealt with by his American lawyer.
It is understood Green has no plans to defend himself in person, but would travel to the US if required.
One witness corroborated Ms Surridge’s (pictured) allegation and said he grabbed her bottom as if ‘testing a piece of fruit’
The charges are not serious enough for Green to be extradited to the US from his Monaco mansion.
Earlier this week Green vehemently denied the allegations.
Responding to the claims, Green’s lawyer Ian Burton, a senior partner at top London firm BCL, said he was ‘surprised and disappointed these charges have been made’. He added: ‘Sir Philip strenuously denies the allegations.’
In the US crimes are a misdemeanour or a felony. Most serious crimes such as murder are felonies, which carry a longer jail term. More everyday matters like theft are misdemeanours. Some crimes can be either – such as assault
Pictured: The ranch at which Sr Philip is alleged to have assaulted the mother-of-three repeatedly
Ms Surridge (pictured) claimed Sir Philip had made her feel ‘almost like a prostitute’ by repeatedly ‘spanking’ her and making lewd comments
A homeowner at the resort, described by police as an independent witness, gave an account to the detective of what she claims to have seen in 2016. Kimberly Khoury said Sir Philip grabbed her with his ‘octopus-like hand’.
‘I see his hand go reach out and, like, pat her buttocks,’ Ms Khoury told the officer. ‘And then pat it again and like, grab her buttocks. And then she kind of moved, like, startled a little bit. And took like a step away. And then he removed his hand and brought it back.
‘I can’t tell you what we talked about because I was so focused on what was happening with his … uh, his octopus-like hand.’
They continued talking before he grabbed Ms Surridge’s bottom again, Ms Khoury alleged.
She continued: ‘And like, slaps, you know, spanks it, whatever, so like, taps it. And then grabs again and this happened in the course of like a minute-and-a-half, or two minutes.
‘He did that three or four times. It was pretty clear that, to me, that she wasn’t welcoming the behaviour.’
Sir Philip (pictured with his wife, Lady Green, and his daughter, Chloe, at the 70th Cannes Film Festival) has previously denied the allegations
Ms Khoury, who was 54 at the time of the police interview in February, said she found it ‘disturbing’ and spoke to senior management at the ranch.
Before the charging decision had been revealed, Sir Philip declined to comment on the statements made to police.
He said: ‘I haven’t seen any papers, so I don’t know what papers you’re talking about, or when they came, or what you’ve got. So, as far as I’m concerned, I’ve got no comment to make.’
How Mail broke the news to Philip Green
BY RUTH SUTHERLAND
I’ve had a lot of tricky chats with Sir Philip Green over the years but none more awkward than last night when I found myself telling him that criminal charges had been filed against him in the US for smacking the bottom of a pilates instructor.
Sounding shell-shocked and hesitant, unlike his usual ebullient self, the tycoon told me he was not aware that criminal charges had been made.
So, I asked him, am I the first person to tell you that you have been charged?
He replied that he wasn’t aware that he had been – and then, with an uncharacteristic refusal to talk, or even to indulge in his usual salty language – he referred me to his lawyer.
The voluble tycoon, who normally assaults the ears of his listeners with torrents of words, had clammed up. He did, however, splutter indignantly when I asked him whether he had actually committed the assaults. Through his lawyers, he strenuously denies it.
What a contrast with a day earlier, when I had been discussing with him his plans to try to rescue his Arcadia store chains from going under.
Sir Philip’s manner then was sensible and business-like – no doubt he is desperate to avoid a repeat of the bad publicity when his former BHS empire went bust.
My call could not have come at a worse time for Sir Philip. He knows if he is to save Arcadia he needs to win the agreement of the Pensions Regulator, his landlords and other creditors for his proposals by Wednesday.
Now his efforts to stop Topshop and his other brands going to the wall have been overshadowed by yet more allegations of his conduct towards women. No wonder he sounded rattled.
Sir Philip, 67, has previously denied the allegations investigated by the Pima County Sheriff’s Department.
A spokesman for Sir Philip, issued by Arcadia, said: ‘Sir Philip strenuously denies these allegations and is disappointed that the charges have been filed in his absence and they are minor categories of misdemeanour in the United States.
‘Sir Philip is not personally required to attend before the court at the forthcoming hearing and will be represented by his lawyer.
‘Contrary to previous suggestions in the media there is no allegation of any sexual assault or misconduct made by the prosecution.’
Deputy county attorney Lauren Deakin said this evening: ‘Philip Green has been formally charged with four misdemeanour assault counts (ARS 13-1203 (A) (3) knowingly touching another person with the intent to injure, insult, or provoke).
‘These are class three misdemeanours. Each count has a potential sentence of up to 30 days in the Pima County jail, a fine of not more than 500 dollars, and up to one year of probation.’
Topshop boss Sir Philip Green allegedly grabbed women’s breasts and thighs, slapped their bottoms and had hundreds of grievance cases against him, a peer claimed in the House of Lords on May 23.
Sir Philip previously ‘categorically and wholly’ denied the claims. Lord Hain said he was revealing the account of a victim for the first time as he defended the use of parliamentary privilege.
The peer quoted an alleged victim, saying: ‘He was touching and repeatedly slapping women staff’s bottoms, grabbing thighs and touching legs.
‘Hundreds of grievance cases were raised with HR. The company lawyer who interviewed me then lied. Sir Philip screamed and shouted at staff ”to go to psychologists”.
‘Victims went to an employment tribunal but were told it would not get anywhere so settled with an NDA (non-disclosure agreement).
‘Some were worn down with spiralling legal costs costing them a fortune. He broke some in the end. It was horrible … He is still doing exactly the same thing. It is rife, it happened all the time. I saw him grab the breasts of others. This has gone on for long time.’
Sir Philip (pictured on a yacht in Monaco during the Grand Prix) stands accused of repeatedly assaulting the pilates teacher
‘He repeatedly spanked me and fondled my bottom. I felt like a prostitute’
The fitness instructor at the centre of the allegations said Sir Philip Green made her feel ‘almost like a prostitute’.
Katie Surridge, 37, said she was working at a luxury spa resort in Arizona where the fashion mogul owns a home when he repeatedly touched her bottom and made sexual comments, despite being warned to stop.
Mrs Surridge, a married mother, waived her right to anonymity in February to reveal details of the two incidents to a newspaper after it emerged police in the US were investigating.
Katie Surridge, 37, said she was working at a luxury spa resort in Arizona when Philip Green allegedly spanked her
At the time, Green’s spokesman strongly denied the claims and added that the matter had been investigated by the ranch but ‘nothing was found against Sir Philip and the matter dropped’.
Last night his lawyers again denied the claims, saying: ‘They are charges of simple assault. There is no suggestion they are sexual in nature.’ Mrs Surridge told how Green repeatedly ‘spanked’ her.
When she complained, he is said to have told her: ‘You Americans are so uptight.’
‘I felt very taken advantage of and like, you know, just a piece of meat there at his disposal,’ she told The Daily Telegraph.
‘It feels completely sexual in nature. And the way – the noises, and the ‘oh, you naughty girl’. Like – ughh – I can hear him saying it right now.’
Mrs Surridge had worked at the ranch, where rooms cost $1,000 (£765) a night, since 2006. Her husband of ten years also worked there at the time.
She said the first incident happened on January 5, 2016, when Green entered her studio after a pilates class. She said he slapped her bottom ‘up to ten times’ before demanding a private pilates session. He is also said to have told her: ‘I need you to stretch me.’
She said he asked her to demonstrate exercises on the equipment, before touching her inappropriately on his way out of the room. ‘I felt disgusted and I felt ashamed,’ she said, adding that Green made her feel ‘almost like a prostitute’.
‘I’d never had someone do that to me. Never. I mean, not even in like a bar setting, people aren’t smacking my butt.
‘And here I am at work, just trying to teach pilates, and my butt’s being spanked. If he was just somebody on the street, you know, who was trying to grab me, I would have punched him.’
Another guest who witnessed part of the incident complained to management. She said she saw Green ‘fondling’ Mrs Surridge’s bottom repeatedly.
‘I could see his hand touching her buttocks,’ she said. ‘He didn’t just do it once, it wasn’t just like a pat on the butt – which would be bad enough – he would pat her butt and then feel her butt and then he’d move his hand away, and Katie would try to move a little, and then he did it again, and then he did it again. It was bizarre really.’
It is understood Green was spoken to. Mrs Surridge said he appeared ‘uncomfortable’ when she saw him the next day and allegedly told her: ‘I’ve been taken to the principal’s office.’
She said the second incident happened on the afternoon of January 9 last year, when Green returned to her studio. She had not seen him since the first alleged incident. Recalling the day, she said: ‘He came in and gave me the greeting, kind of kissed each cheek, and then he slid his arms around my waist, kind of slow.
‘Then he put his hands on my butt cheek and just held it there, a just awkwardly long amount of time, and had his hand on my butt, just resting there.
‘And then I tried to pull away and then he like grabbed me and pulled me back in.’
Mrs Surridge claimed that as she began to show Green how to use the complicated pilates equipment, he began to make sexual comments and touched her bare midriff.
She said the need for resort staff to keep VIP guests happy meant she felt she had no choice but to put on a brave face.
‘You keep the peace,’ she said. ‘And so it was me trying to act as appropriately as I could, and as professionally as I could, given what I was dealing with.’
She said that when she was on her stomach demonstrating another exercise ‘he came up behind me, grabbed my hips and was like, ‘Oh, keep going’.’
She added: ‘When I was putting his feet in the straps he commented, ‘Oh, you always like to tie men up, you’ve always been like that, you naughty girl’.’ Mrs Surridge said she tried to tell him to ‘behave,’ telling him ‘eyes on your own paper’ but he ignored her.
After the 45-minute session, she said she ran to her manager’s office. ‘I’ve only cried a couple of times at work. This was one of the times that I was full on, like a baby, just crying, like, how could this happen to me again?’
She told her bosses she would never again work with Green but said the next day a female client was in her studio, bending over while touching her toes and he said: ‘Oh, you put her in this position just for me, didn’t you?’
Mrs Surridge made another formal complaint and an investigation was launched.
Green was visited at his home and told not to enter the resort buildings until the investigation was complete, it was reported. But she was told that legally he could not be barred from the resort because he owned a home there.
He then texted her trying to arrange a phone call, but she ignored him, she said.
Mrs Surridge said her experiences led to some of the female staff warning each other to keep away from Green on his annual visits. ‘Everyone’s kind of like, brace for impact and cover your behind because you know, he’s coming,’ she said.
Lawyers for Green said last night: ‘We are surprised and disappointed these charges have been made. They are charges of simple assault. There is no suggestion they are sexual in nature as has previously been suggested by the media.
‘Sir Philip strenuously denies the allegations.’
