30/10/2009

Marlon King To Appeal Conviction

Footballer Marlon King is to launch an appeal against his conviction and 18-month prison sentence for sexually assaulting a woman and punching her in the face.

The striker, who has now been sacked by Wigan, was convicted at Southwark Crown Court of sexual assault and actual bodily harm.

The court heard that King, a father-of-three from Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire, groped the woman before punching her, breaking her nose, in the Soho Revue bar in London last December, while he was on loan at Hull.

King had denied the charges, claiming that it was a case of mistaken identity.

Speaking to BBC 5 Live on Friday, King's agent Tony Finnegan said that King's lawyers were expected to appeal on Monday. He said that his client was "very, very disappointed" and said that he would also appeal to the Premier League over Wigan's decision to sack him following the conviction.

However, Wigan Chairman Dave Whelan is reported to have said that King will never play for the club again.

(KMcA/BMcc)

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