Portsmouth Student Denies Rape After Woman Says She Woke to Attack in His Flat
Portsmouth Student Denies Rape After Woman Says She Woke to Attack in His Flat
Portsmouth Student Denies Rape After Woman Says She Woke to Attack in His Flat
A woman has told a court she woke up in the early hours of 28 June to find a university student attacking her inside his bedroom in Greetham Street, Portsmouth.
Waleed Alharbi, 26, is standing trial at Portsmouth Crown Court, where he denies raping the woman and also denies a further charge of attempted rape. Prosecutors allege he assaulted her both in his bedroom and earlier in his shower. The complainant is aged in her 30s.
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Opening the case, prosecutor Mike Mason said the pair first met at the Astoria nightclub when the woman was resting after being advised to sit down by a bouncer. When she later returned to the dance floor, Mr Alharbi and another man approached her.
“The defendant was very drunk,” Mr Mason told the jury. “He lifted the complainant up, pushed her against the wall and kissed her.” He added that Mr Alharbi later carried her outside before the two walked together to his student accommodation nearby. The woman, he said, was heavily intoxicated and required his support to walk.
Friends of both individuals also went to the flat, the court heard. Inside, Mr Alharbi banged his head, prompting the friends to leave temporarily to buy a plaster. It was after their departure, prosecutors say, that the situation escalated.
According to Mr Mason, the defendant began touching the woman inappropriately and trying to remove her dress before biting her, causing her to cry out in pain. He then allegedly “dragged” her into his bedroom, where she could not leave because access required a key card. When the friends later returned, they were unable to enter.
The court heard that the woman fled to the bathroom but was followed by Mr Alharbi, who pushed her down in the shower, turned on the water and attempted to rape her. She was described as “crying and screaming” before losing consciousness.
When she awoke, prosecutors said she found the defendant raping her on the bed. She told him, “No, no, do not do this,” the court heard.
After the alleged assault, Mr Alharbi left the accommodation on a scooter, while the woman was discovered outside the building “sitting on the floor crying”, Mr Mason said.
The trial continues.
Portsmouth Student Denies Rape After Woman Says She Woke to Attack in His Flat
