The theatre student son of a top US banker was quizzed by cops over an alleged groping incident at an ultra-exclusive Bahamas resort, DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal.
Spencer Charrington, 19, was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault after Diana Gagnon, 35, claimed he touched her hip area from behind as she danced at a ‘Moulin Rouge’ party.
Her husband Phillipe Gagnon, 55 – a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu – warned Spencer to ‘get the f**k out of here’ then slapped him twice in the face when he refused to back off, it’s alleged.
Gagnon, a Canadian expat, was arrested four days after the $1,000 per-head New Year’s Eve bash at the opulent Albany development, one of the most exclusive resorts in the Caribbean.
He’s charged with ‘causing harm’ to Spencer, whose dad Peter Charrington led Citibank’s private banking division before stepping down in 2020 to become senior executive partner at Albany’s parent company.
Spencer Charrington, 19, was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault after Diana Gagnon, 35, claimed he touched her hip area at a New Year’s Eve party
Gagnon claims Charrington groped her before her husband Phillipe, 55 slapped him in the face, was arrested, and kicked out of the $90,000-a-year club
Diana and Phillipe Gagnon are pictured at the $1,000-a-ticket Moulin Rouge themed New Year’s Eve bash
The 600-acre complex boasts a mega-yacht marina, a championship-caliber golf course designed by two-time US Open winner Ernie Els and even has its own school
The Gagnons say their $90,000-per-year membership was suspended in the wake of the spat and that Diana was escorted from the premises midway through a tennis game.
The dispute was far from over, however, as she lodged her own complaint about Spencer’s behavior with the Royal Bahamas Police Force, leading eventually to his arrest on April 4.
Spencer’s dad Peter Charrington led Citibank’s private banking division before stepping down in 2020 to become senior executive partner at Albany’s parent company
The teenager – who attends McDaniel College, a liberal arts college in Westminster, Maryland – told officers he was merely complimenting Diana on her ornate feathered dress and didn’t assault her.
He was released without charge, pending further investigations, DailyMail.com has confirmed.
Spencer’s Bahamas-based attorney Giahna Soles-Hunt did not respond to multiple calls and emails requesting comment.
Albany Bahamas was founded on the island of New Providence in 2010 by British billionaire Joe Lewis with investment from Tiger Woods and Justin Timberlake.
The 600-acre complex boasts a mega-yacht marina, a championship-caliber golf course designed by two-time US Open winner Ernie Els and even has its own school.
Jailed crypto fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried owned a $40 million penthouse atop one of Albany’s luxe apartment buildings until it was seized by regulators to claw back funds from his collapsed FTX empire.
The resort is said to operate a strict no photos or autographs rule to protect the privacy of well-heeled celebs who flock to the gated hideaway to enjoy the upscale facilities and powder-white private beach.
A lawyer representing both Spencer and Albany wrote to the Gagnons on February 14 proposing a settlement in which the two sides would agree to pay one another $100 in damages and drop all further claims.
The ‘deed of release’ would have barred everyone involved from speaking to the media – but Phillipe and Diana declined to sign it as it didn’t reinstate their Albany membership.
The teen who is studying at a liberal arts college in Maryland was eventually arrested and released without charges
The Albany resort is said to operate a strict no photos or autographs rule to protect the privacy of well-heeled celebs who flock to the gated hideaway to enjoy the upscale facilities and powder-white private beach
Gagnon, an engineer and businessman, was released on $1,500 bail but faces up to six months in jail if he’s found guilty at a June 3 trial, though he’ll likely avoid a custodial sentence as he has no prior criminal record.
The dad-of-five told police he warned Spencer to ‘go away’ multiple times and did not strike him with a closed fist or draw blood.
His wife says it’s unjust that her ‘upstanding’ husband is the only person facing prosecution when several bystanders backed their account of the alleged groping.
‘My husband will fight the charges because he did absolutely nothing wrong,’ Diana told DailyMail.com in a statement.
‘I was subjected to a humiliating and frightening assault and he stepped in to ensure my safety.
‘I feel it’s unfair that police only charged Phillipe since two witnesses to the [alleged] groping came to the police station and gave statements.’
Spencer’s social media pages reveal him to be a flamboyant dresser and a keen supporter of liberal causes including Black Lives Matter and the ACLU.
His Instagram handle says he lives between Nassau, the Bahamian capital, and New York and features the Oscar Wilde quote: ‘My existence is a scandal.’
In November Spencer starred in a production of the Tony-Award winning ‘Urinetown: The Musical’ with fellow students from the McDaniel Theatre Arts Department.
His British dad Peter spent 26 years working for Citibank, running their private banking arm in the UK, Greece and Israel before being named CEO for North America to rebuild the business after the financial crisis.
He was appointed its global head of operations in 2014 but left six years later to become a senior partner at Nexus Luxury Collection, a global real estate firm that operates high-end resorts and golf courses across the US and Bahamas.
Spencer’s social media pages reveal him to be a flamboyant dresser and a keen supporter of liberal causes including Black Lives Matter and the ACLU
In November 2022 DailyMail.com snapped world exclusive photos of Sam Bankman-Fried pacing up and down anxiously on the terrace of his $40 million Albany marina penthouse
Albany, one of the jewels in its crown, has added high-end shops, a market, a salon and a school under Charrington’s tenure.
It’s also equipped with a recording studio which has been used by the likes of Alicia Keys and Mick Jagger. Nightly renters pay anything between $1,700 and $44,950 plus taxes, according to Forbes.
‘You have to keep reinventing,’ Charrington told the outlet in February. ‘When most developers build something, they put in the amenities and then they leave.
‘We don’t operate like that. And we know that in order to keep all of the members of the different family generations happy, we need to give all of them activities to do their own thing.’
In November 2022 DailyMail.com snapped world exclusive photos of Bankman-Fried pacing up and down anxiously on the terrace of his $40 million Albany marina penthouse.
The five-bed pad was one of 38 properties worth a staggering $222 million seized by regulators to repay the shaggy-haired conman’s ripped-off customers while he serves 25 years in prison.
