Warning: This story contains distressing details.
James Haskell, prosecuting, said: “The prosecution case is that James Holder sexually assaulted and raped a woman in the early hours of May 7 2022.
“There is no dispute in this case that Mr Holder did engage in some sort of sexual activity with her.
“But he says all the sexual activity that occurred was consensual and he reasonably believed it was so,” he added.
The court was told when Holder woke up at the woman’s flat, he told her to join him in the bedroom.
“She said no, she was tired, and she said he pulled her on the bed,” Haskell added.
“She said that he continued to touch her. She described him pulling off her lower clothing. She said she tried to stop him.
“From time to time he would say sorry but then carried on. She was telling him to stop.
“At one point she remembered starting to cry but even then he didn’t stop,” Haskell added.
