Court approaches verdict for man accused of rape

Friday 08 November 2019

The trial of a man accused of raping and physically assaulting a woman in Guernsey is due to come to a close today.

The 36-year-old denies all three counts.

The complainant - who is being referred to as Miss A - went to Guernsey Police last year to report the charges, which date back to 2015 and 2016.

The first accuses the defendant of headbutting her and possibly punching her in the back of the head. Miss A claims she fell over as a result of the blows, with blurred vision, and that she had painful lumps on the back of her head for days following the incident.

Charges two and three are alleged to have happened on the same evening, when Miss A claims the defendant grabbed her by the neck and spat in her face before going on to rape her.

Despite saying she wished she had come forward earlier, the complainant said she had not felt "strong enough" at the time.

After two days of trial in the Royal Court, both the prosecution and defence have closed their cases and it is now down to the Jurats to come to a decision.

The court has heard evidence from the complainant herself, while no witnesses appeared for the defence.

In his closing speech, defence Advocate Andrew Ayres said Miss A had been "vague" and "unreliable" in her evidence. He claimed that her body language throughout her interview with police was "unusual" and that "she was blinking at quite a fast rate".

The defence maintains that the complainant made the allegations up.

The case will continue today, when a verdict is expected to be reached.