Ted Hankey, a former world darts champion, was charged with sexually assaulting a lady last year.
According to a police spokesman, the 54-year-old has been charged in connection with an incident in Cheshire in September 2021.
According to police, the former professional darts player, of Berry Hill, Stoke-on-Trent, has been freed on bail and will appear at Warrington Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
‘The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has authorized Cheshire Constabulary to charge Edward Hankey with sexual assault on a woman,’ said Cheshire Constabulary.
Hankey, known as ‘The Count,’ won the BDO title in 2000 and 2009, and was a runner-up in 2001 and 2004. At the height of his popularity, he became famous for entering arenas cloaked in a cloak, and his walk-on music was DJ Zany’s 2002 hit ‘Be on Your Way.’
In 2012 and 2013, he was invited to play on the PDC circuit, however, due to a slight stroke in November 2012, he returned to the BDO in 2014.
It was revealed in December that he would be withdrawing from the inaugural World Seniors Darts Championship in February, which was won by Robert Thornton.
His first world title came in a final that went down in history, as the Stoke-on-Trent-born player defeated ‘The Rocket’ Ronnie Baxter 6-0 at the Lakeside. Furthermore, he won the bullseye with a maximum 170 finish.
Following his second title triumph, he left the organization and signed with the PDC, but he never reached the same degree of success with the latter. His latest tournament victory came in 2011 when he won the Isle of Man Open.
He has previously won the BDO Gold Cup, the Belgium Open, the British Open, the Denmark Open, the Dutch Open, the England Open, the German Open, the IDPA Lakeside Classic, the Malta Open, and the Norway Open.
However, in 2012, he suffered from publicised health issues and suffered a mini-stroke during a match.
Hankey later returned to the BDO and continued to bid on events, but he struggled to qualify for tournaments on a regular basis, and in 2018, HM Revenue and Customs filed a bankruptcy petition in a London court.
Furthermore, in December last year it was announced he was withdrawing from the World Seniors Darts Championship, held in February. No reason was given by organisers for his absence, just the following statement:
“Following correspondence received from Ted Hankey, he has confirmed that he has formally withdrawn from our February WC22 event. Details on his replacement will be announced in due course.”
In his absence, Robert Thornton won the inaugural title, defeating Martin Adams in the final 5–1.
