A FORMER nurse at Salisbury District Hospital was found not guilty after being accused of groping another man in the toilets of a city centre gym.

Matteo Abatino was cleared of one charge of sexual assault at Salisbury magistrates’ court on Monday, after his defence solicitor successfully convinced the bench the alleged victim had been mistaken about Abatino “grabbing his penis” in the toilets at Sports Direct Fitness in June.

The alleged victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the court he was using a urinal in the men’s changing rooms of the city centre gym when he noticed Mr Abatino “staring at [his] genitalia”.

And he said after a brief conversation about their respective workouts, Mr Abatino grabbed his genitals through his gym shorts, before telling him, “shush, it’s a joke, don’t get upset”.

The man said Mr Abatino tried to grab him again for a second time as he left the bathroom.

A witness, Martin Joint, said he had heard an “awkward” exchange of pleasantries taking place in the toilets as he was getting changed, before seeing the alleged victim leaving the area “visibly shaken”.

But giving evidence, Mr Abatino said he had not grabbed the other man’s genitals, and had just “tapped his hip with the back of [his] hand” as they spoke.

Mr Abatino, who is Italian, said: “It is a cultural gesture that we do in Italy, when you’re talking to someone you touch them, either on the shoulder of the hip, but it’s in a friendly way.”

When defence solicitor Trevor Line asked the man if he had been mistaken about where Mr Abatino touched him, he responded: “Definitely not.”

Mr Abatino also denied touching the man a second time, adding: “He was shouting and I was very scared.

“I was very frightened because he was bigger than me.

“There is no way I could have touched him somewhere else, at that point I thought he was going to hit me.”

Prosecuting, Paul Ricketts said: “Why would he [the alleged victim] make something like this up?”

Magistrate Peter Wells said both the alleged victim and Mr Abatino had been credible witnesses.

He told Mr Abatino: “We do not believe that the touching was sexual, and [the alleged victim] was mistaken in this.”

Mr Abatino, who has no previous convictions, sobbed and thanked the bench as they found him innocent.