The theater student, son of a top US banker, was questioned by police over an alleged groping incident at an ultra-exclusive resort in the Bahamas, DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal.
Spencer Charrington, 19, was arrested on suspicion of assault after Diana Gagnon, 35, claimed he touched her hip from behind while she was dancing at a ‘Moulin Rouge’ party.
Her husband Phillipe Gagnon, 55 – a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu – warned Spencer to “get out of here” and then punched him twice in the face when he refused to back down, it is claimed.
Gagnon, a Canadian expat, was arrested four days after the $1,000-per-head New Year’s Eve party at the lavish Albany complex, one of the most exclusive resorts in the Caribbean.
He is accused of “harming” Spencer, whose father Peter Charrington led Citibank’s private banking division before resigning in 2020 to become a senior executive partner at the Albany parent company.
Spencer Charrington, 19, was arrested on suspicion of 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 punched him in the face, was arrested and kicked out of the $90,000-a-year club.
The 600-acre complex features a marina for mega yachts, 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-a-year membership was suspended in the aftermath of the row and that Diana was escorted from the property midway through a tennis match.
However, the dispute was far from over when she filed her own complaint about Spencer’s behavior with the Royal Bahamas Police Force, ultimately leading to his arrest on April 4.
Spencer’s father Peter Charrington led Citibank’s private banking division before stepping down in 2020 to become a senior executive partner at Albany’s parent company
The teen – who attends McDaniel College, a liberal arts college in Westminster, Maryland – told officers that he was only complimenting Diana on her ornate feathered dress and was not assaulting her.
He was released without charge pending further investigation, DailyMail.com confirmed.
Spencer’s attorney from the Bahamas, Giahna Soles-Hunt, did not respond to multiple calls and emails seeking comment.
Albany Bahamas was founded in 2010 on the island of New Providence by British billionaire Joe Lewis with investments from Tiger Woods and Justin Timberlake.
The 600-acre complex features a marina for mega yachts, a championship-quality golf course designed by two-time US Open winner Ernie Els, and even has its own school.
Imprisoned crypto fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried owned a $40 million penthouse atop one of Albany’s luxury apartment buildings until it was seized by regulators to recover money from his collapsed FTX empire.
The resort is said to have a strict rule of no photos or signatures to protect the privacy of wealthy celebrities who come to the gated retreat to enjoy its luxurious facilities and powder-white private beach.
An attorney representing both Spencer and Albany wrote a letter to the Gagnons on February 14 proposing a settlement in which the two parties would agree to pay each other $100 in damages and drop all further claims.
The ‘deed of release’ would have barred anyone involved from speaking to the media – but Phillipe and Diana refused to sign it because it did not reinstate their Albany membership.
The police have requested a statement from a witness who says he witnessed the argument
The teen, who is studying at a liberal arts college in Maryland, was eventually arrested and released without charge
The Albany resort is said to have a strict no-photos or autographs policy to protect the privacy of wealthy celebrities who come to the gated retreat to enjoy its luxurious facilities and powder-white private beach
Gagnon, an engineer and businessman, was released on $1,500 bail but faces up to six months in prison if found guilty at a trial on June 3, although he is likely to avoid a custodial sentence because he has no previous criminal record.
The father of five told police that he warned Spencer to “get away” several times and that he did not hit him with a closed fist or draw blood.
His wife says it is unfair that her “sincere” husband is the only person to be prosecuted, while several bystanders supported their story about the alleged groping.
“My husband will fight the charges because he has done absolutely nothing wrong,” Diana told DailyMail.com in a statement.
‘I was subjected to a humiliating and terrifying attack and he intervened to ensure my safety.
‘I think it is unfair that the police only charged Phillipe since there were two witnesses [alleged] groped came to the police station and made statements.’
Spencer’s social media pages reveal him to be a flamboyant dresser and a strong supporter of liberal causes, including Black Lives Matter and the ACLU.
His Instagram account says he lives between Nassau, the Bahamian capital, and New York, and features Oscar Wilde’s 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 Theater Arts Department.
His British father Peter worked for Citibank for 26 years, leading its private banking division in Britain, Greece and Israel, before being appointed CEO for North America to rebuild the company after the financial crisis .
He was appointed Global Head of Operations in 2014, but left six years later to become a senior partner at Nexus Luxury Collection, a global real estate company that operates luxury resorts and golf courses in the US and the Bahamas.
Spencer’s social media pages reveal him to be a flamboyant dresser and a strong supporter of liberal causes, including Black Lives Matter and the ACLU.
In November 2022, DailyMail.com captured world-exclusive photos of Sam Bankman-Fried anxiously pacing up and down the terrace of his $40 million penthouse in the Albany Marina.
Albany, one of the crown jewels, added luxury shops, a market, a salon and a school under Charrington’s tenure.
It is also equipped with a recording studio that has been used by the likes of Alicia Keys and Mick Jagger. According to Forbes, nightly renters pay anything between $1,700 and $44,950 plus taxes.
“You have to keep reinventing,” Charrington told the outlet in February. “When most developers build something, they put in the amenities and then leave.
‘We don’t work that way. And we know that to keep all members of the different family generations happy, we have to give everyone activities to do their own thing.”
In November 2022, DailyMail.com captured world-exclusive photos of Bankman-Fried anxiously pacing up and down the terrace of his $40 million penthouse in Albany’s marina.
The five-bed shelter was one of 38 properties worth a whopping $222 million seized by regulators to pay back the shaggy-haired conman’s defrauded clients while he served 25 years in prison.