Retail tycoon Philip Green charged with assault after pilates teacher alleges inappropriate touching

Sir Philip Green attends the TopShop Spring/Summer 2018 show at London Fashion Week in London, Britain September 17, 2017.

Mary Turner | Reuters

The British retail tycoon Philip Green has been charged with four counts of misdemeanor assault in the United States after an Arizona pilates instructor accused him of repeatedly touching her inappropriately, Britain's Press Association reported on Friday.

The billionaire chairman of Arcadia Group, Green is accused of spanking the instructor and grabbing her buttocks at the Canyon Ranch resort in Tucson in 2016 and 2018, according to the Pima County Attorney's Office, the PA reported.

The charges carry a sentence of up to 30 days in jail and a $500 fine, the PA reported, citing Lauren Deakin, a deputy in the prosecutor's office. Pima County court records posted online showed Green was due to appear for an arraignment hearing for the four charges on June 19, but the full criminal complaint was not immediately available.

A spokesman for Green had denied the allegations when they became public earlier this year. Arcadia and a spokesman for Green did not respond to requests for comment on Friday. A spokeswoman for the country attorney's office did not respond to requests for confirmation.

Green's group operates some of the best known clothing store chains in the United Kingdom and Ireland, including Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge and Dorothy Perkins.

The company said this month it planned to close 23 of its 566 stores in the British Isles as it loses customers to online competitors.

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