Greenwich RTM Member's Sex Assault Arrest Draws National Attention

GREENWICH, CT — Representative Town Meeting member Christopher von Keyserling's recent arrest after he was accused of pinching a female town employee's groin has attracted national attention.

Time, the Washington Post, Snopes, the New York Daily News and the Daily Mail were among some of the national and international outlets that picked up the story.

Von Keyserling, 71, was charged with fourth-degree sexual assault, a misdemeanor charge.

His lawyer Phil Russell said von Keyserling made a "playful gesture," and it was too trivial to be considered anything of significance, according to the Greenwich Time.

A 57-year-old female made a complaint with the Greenwich Police Department on Dec. 9. She said von Keyserling touched her at a town-owned facility the day prior, according to the arrest warrant.

Von Keyserling and the woman talked politics and she told him that, "This is a new world (politically) and you need to educate your fellow politicians," the warrant states.

Von Keyserling allegedly responded with, "I love this new world, I no longer have to be politically correct."

She said that she couldn't help him if he felt that way and he told her she was, "...nothing but a lazy, bloodsucking union employee," according to the warrant.

She ended the conversation by saying, "[expletive] you," and walked away.

The woman then went to her office to work on her computer when von Keyserling came into the office. He said he was there to talk to the woman's co-worker, but the co-worker said she was too busy to talk and left the office.

The woman then decided to leave the office because she didn't want to be alone with von Keyserling, according to the warrant. She walked by von Keyserling on her way out.

"As she did so, he reached between her legs from behind and pinched her in the groin area," the warrant states.

The two had a tense exchange and the woman then reported the incident to the deputy director of the town facility.

At first the woman wasn't going to press criminal charges. She was going to leave it with the town Human Resources Department, the facility staff and a call from police to von Keyserling advising him to stay away from the woman.

Von KeySerling told the town assistant director of human resources that the whole thing was a misunderstanding, according to the warrant. He said the same thing to a Greenwich Police detective and said he was sorry he had pinched her and sorry that the situation "...has gotten this out of hand," according to the warrant.

The woman then contacted police Dec. 16 and said she wanted to press charges. She was reluctant to at first out of fear of retribution and the publicity the investigation may bring, according to the warrant, but decided to when she heard von Keyserling did the same thing to other town employees.

Police said the incident was caught on security video and it is consistent with what the woman described to police.

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