Rape accused (21) choked woman until she passed out, jury told

Alex John Hill (21) appeared at the Royal Court yesterday facing three rape charges, one count of grave and criminal assault and three assault charges. Mr Hill has pleaded not guilty to all seven charges.

The offences were allegedly committed when Mr Hill was a teenager. On the first assault charge, Mr Hill is accused of having slapped the woman in the face, according to Crown Advocate Simon Thomas, who opened the prosecution case yesterday.

Giving evidence behind a screen on the first day of the jury trial, the alleged victim said she asked him: ‘What the hell do you think you are doing?’

She said she was left with a red mark on her left cheek.

Advocate Thomas said Mr Hill also bit her shoulder during another alleged assault and bit her hand in another incident. He added that Mr Hill raped the complainant and committed a grave and criminal assault the same night by choking her until she was unconscious.

‘She could not breathe. She ended up passing out,’ said Advocate Thomas.

He said the second rape charge related to the alleged victim giving evidence that on numerous occasions she had asked Mr Hill to stop during sex and he had not.

The third rape charge relates to an incident which alleged occurred later the same year.

‘The most important thing for him was his own sexual pleasure,’ said Advocate Thomas.

A series of exchanges on Snapchat were read out to the jury which, Advocate Thomas claimed, showed Mr Hill admitting that he had raped her.

‘The defendant went as far as accepting he was a rapist and offered to hand himself in,’ the lawyer alleged.

Reading from Snapchat messages purportedly from Mr Hill, Advocate Thomas said: ‘I did not stop when you asked me to stop…I am sorry for not stopping when you asked me to stop…I was a rapist and I did abuse you but nothing is going to change the past and I am sorry for that.’ One from her read: ‘You raped me, you abused me, you hurt me.’

Commenting on why the complainant might not have reported the alleged offences at the time, Advocate Thomas said: ‘People react in different ways to sexual assault. Some may complain immediately, while some may feel ashamed and shocked.’

Advocate Mark Boothman was defending, and the Bailiff, Timothy Le Cocq, was presiding. He said the trial was expected to last four days.

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