A top intellectual property lawyer has denied sexually assaulting a jogger in Sydney late last year.
Carl Harrap, a patent and trademark lawyer working at renowned firm FPA – formerly known as Freehills Patent Attorneys – has entered a not guilty plea at the Manly Local Court, according to a report from
Perth Now.
“I have instructions to enter a plea of not guilty in relation to the charge,” Joseph Nashed, Harrap’s lawyer, told the court.
Last 28 December, the 40-year-old is alleged to have assaulted a 20-year-old female jogger at the Clontark Track, near Manly in Sydney. Harrap allegedly jumped out of the bushes and grabbed at the jogger’s crotch. The lawyer was tackled to the ground and held by witnesses until authorities arrived,
Perth Now reported.
After being taken into custody, Harrap was charged with “assault with act of indecency,” an earlier report by
The Daily Telegraph said.
Harrap, who is married with children, is principal at FPA. He joined the firm in 2013 after leaving
Herbert Smith Freehills, where he spent seven years.
Apart from qualifications in Australia, he is also a registered patent attorney in New Zealand.
According to
Perth Now, the lawyer, who is out on bail, is a member of the Professional Standards Board, which oversees patents and trademarks lawyers in the country.
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