Five years after sexual harassment allegations emerged against him in the media, disgraced celebrity chef Mario Batali is back in the public eye.
The 58-year-old Mario Batali was charged with indecent assault and battery in Boston Municipal Court.
A judge will decide the outcome of the trial after Batali forfeited his right to a jury.
According to the Boston Globe, Natali Tene said Batali called her after she took a picture of him at a Boston bar.
Tene told prosecutors that Batali touched her breasts, her face, and her sensitive feminine areas before inviting her to come back to his hotel room.
Tene denied smiling in her photos with the former Iron Chef, and said she was "grimacing" during the cross examination.
According to the Associated Press, the assault never happened and Tene is lying for financial gain.
Tene said she pursued both criminal and civil suits against Batali because she wanted to be able to take control of what happened.
The first allegations against Batali were made in a Eater expose. The New York Times reported on the behavior of Batali and others at The Spotted Pig, a restaurant in New York City. The New York Police Department said there was not enough evidence to make an arrest. Batali pleaded not guilty to Tene's claims of assault. If he is convicted, he will be required to register as a sex offender and face up to 2 years in prison. The restaurant management company and their former business partner were required to pay $600,000 to settle sexual harassment and discrimination claims at three of their New York City restaurants.
Batali sold off his food empire. The chef will no longer profit from the restaurants in any way, shape or form, according to a spokesman for the company. The Food Network canceled plans to release new episodes of Malto Mario after the allegations surfaced, as well as co-hosting ABC's The Chew, which he was dropped from.
A woman testified that Chef Mario Batali grabbed her in a way that she had never been touched before.
A man is testifying in the sexual harassment trial of Mario Batali.
The New York Times reported that Mario Batali was going on trial.
The case of sexual harassment and discrimination was settled by Mario Batali.
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