London police said a man was charged on Friday with two counts of sexual assault after two women reported being assaulted in a garden where people were queuing to see Queen Elizabeth’s coffin lying in state.
Tens of thousands of people have lined up in London over the past three days, some enduring an overnight wait, to pay their respects to the monarch, whose coffin will remain in parliament’s Westminster Hall until Monday.
Adio Adeshine, 19, who appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday, was also charged with two counts of breaching a sexual harm prevention order, the Metropolitan Police said.
“As those present in the queue will have seen, officers were on hand to immediately respond and arrest the man,” Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Cundy said in a statement.
“Stewards and police officers in London are present throughout the route to help and support those who are queuing to pay their respects to Her Majesty the Queen ... There has been very little crime or other incidents where officers have had to intervene.”