As she walked by, he allegedly pinched her in the groin area, according to the warrant. She threatened to punch him if he ever did it again.

Von Keyserling’s own lawyer doesn’t deny the politician’s “pinch,” in a statement that makes us despair:

"Von Keyserling playfully gave a lady who he knew for 30 years a pinch is what the accusation is," Russell says. "And somehow, everybody's wringing their hands and carrying on that this is a crime, and it just isn't."

His statement implies four things:

knowing someone for a long time has a bearing on whether you can sexually touch them without their consent
it’s not assault as long as the intention is “playful”
complaining that someone has touched/grabbed/pinched/groped – i.e. assaulted – a woman is “hand-wringing” therefore excessive and we shouldn’t care
“carrying on that this is a crime” - sexual assault between acquaintances isn’t a real problem in the grand scheme of things, is it?

Read more: Meet the brave woman who fought off a sex attacker with her keys

Thankfully, the US state of Connecticut does view sexual assault as a crime. A local government official released this statement on von Keyserling’s arrest: "The town has zero tolerance for this alleged behaviour. For years we've had training programs in place for all employees and beyond but cannot comment because this is an allegation that will be adjudicated in the court of law."

Ironically, von Keyserling allegedly told the woman it was “her word against his” after the alleged assault - without realising CCTV was filming the entire incident.

He paid $2,500 (£2,100) bail and is due to appear in court on January 25.

Politician arrested for grabbing a woman's groin, telling her “I no longer have to be politically correct”