Lauren Deakin, a deputy county attorney in Pima county, said Green had been formally charged with four counts of “knowingly touching another person with the intent to injure, insult or provoke”, The Guardian reported.

“These are class three misdemeanours. Each count has a potential sentence of up to 30 days in the Pima county jail, a fine of not more than US$500, and up to one year of probation,” deputy county attorney Deakin said.

In a copy of the police interview obtained by the PA, alleged victim Katie Surridge said that the “creepy old man” had “vigorously” slapped her bottom up to 10 times at the luxury resort in January 2016.

Surridge told police she was worried about frustrating a “high roller” at the resort following the 2016 incident, but decided to speak to management who said they spoke to Green and reassured her it would not happen again.

But Surridge told police that Green assaulted her a second time in January 2018.

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“This time, instead of slapping my butt, he puts his hands, like, he wraps his hands around my waist and then grabs my butt cheek and just puts his hand there and just holds it there as he’s hugging me,” she said.

He went on to make uncomfortable comments and pat her exposed stomach as she demonstrated an exercise, Surridge alleged.

“And then the session ended and I immediately went upstairs to [management’s] office and I was in tears and I said: ‘He was told never to touch me again and here he is touching me again,’” Surridge told police.

The Daily Telegraph first reported that Green was being investigated by police in February. Surridge told the newspaper she had felt “just a piece of meat there at his disposal”.

“It feels completely sexual in nature. And the way – the noises, and the ‘Oh, you naughty girl’. Like – ugh – I can hear him saying it right now.”

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A spokesman for Green has previously denied the claims. Surridge’s account was supported, however, by a homeowner at the Canyon Ranch luxury resort, who told police she had witnessed the assault.

“I see his hand go reach out and, like, pat her buttocks,” Kimberly Khoury said, referring to Green.

“And then pat it again and like, grab her buttocks. And then she kind of moved, like, startled a little bit. And took like a step away. And then he removed his hand and brought it back.

“I can’t tell you what we talked about because I was so focused on what was happening with his … uh, his octopus-like hand.”

They continued talking before he grabbed Surridge’s bottom again, Khoury alleged.

“And like, slaps, you know, spanks it, whatever, so like, taps it. And then grabs again and this happened in the course of like a minute and a half, or two minutes. He did that three or four times.

“It was pretty clear that, to me, that she wasn’t welcoming the behaviour.”

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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.

Arcadia Group’s statement said that Green did not plan to attend the hearing in person.

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.

Additional reporting by The Guardian