Adio Adeshine, 19, is accused of exposing himself and pushing mourners from behind as they waited in the queue at Victoria Tower Gardens on Wednesday afternoon after Westminster Hall opened its doors to the public. Adeshine is said to have jumped into the River Thames in an attempt to evade officers before getting out and being arrested. He was remanded in custody on Friday after appearing at Westminster Crown Court charged with two counts of sexual assault and two counts of breaching a sexual harm prevention order. The first members of the public were allowed into Westminster Hall to view the coffin and pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth II at around 5pm on Wednesday. The line of thousands quickly stretched to nearly three miles, with people staying up all night. Those who wanted to join the queue were warned that it could be as long as 10 miles and that they might have to stand for up to three days without sitting down because the queue would be constantly moving. Wearing a gray prison jumpsuit, Adeshine spoke to confirm his name, date of birth and address in Walworth, south-east London, before pleading not guilty to the charges. Outlining the allegations, prosecutor Alex Adowale said: “The defendant was part of a queue to see Queen Elizabeth II lay in state.” His alleged victims were said to be among the thousands of people who lined the banks of the River Thames to see the Queen’s coffin. The court heard the first complainant allegedly noticed Adeshine because she had not seen him before, even though she had been queuing with the same people for hours. She is said to have noticed him getting closer to her before she felt something touch her back and then turned around to see that she had been exposed. The deputy chief magistrate refused Adeshine bail, remanding him until his next appearance at Southwark Crown Court on October 14. There are strict airport security checks on members of the crowd and anyone entering Westminster Hall has been told they can only take one small bag. On Friday morning, entry to the back of the queue was suspended as it reached maximum capacity, but later reopened.
