Sudanese immigrant ‘told student i love you’ during rape

The student said Muhammad blocked her from answering calls from concerned friends and initially tried to prevent her from charging her phone. He allegedly told her to tell her friends she was with her boyfriend. She nevertheless managed to send her location through Snapchat, which allowed her friends to trace the flat. They later flagged down a passing police car after she was released in the early hours of 5 December 2021

The prosecution said the complainant’s account is consistent with her being incapacitated and overpowered, describing her as “evidently drunk” and vulnerable, which the defendant “took advantage of”

The jury heard that Muhammad, whose immigration status remains unclear, had stored his number in the complainant’s phone, which enabled police to trace him quickly. He was arrested and charged with two counts of rape

Now aged 21, Muhammad denies both counts. He maintains that the sex was consensual and disputes the allegations of force and coercion

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Giving evidence in his own defence, Muhammad told jurors that the complainant had willingly accompanied him to the flat after they met inside Cameo nightclub in the early hours of 5 December 2021. He said she had asked to return with him in order to charge her phone and insisted there was no coercion or force involved

He claimed that once inside the property she initiated sexual contact and that the encounter was consensual. “She took her clothes off, she was hugging me. I’m happy, she was happy as well. I didn’t force her,” he told the court. Muhammad said they had sex twice and that before she left, she kissed his hand. “I said stay until the morning. I just wanted her to be safe. She gave my hand a kiss and said see you later”

Jurors heard that Muhammad subsequently sent a message to the woman on Snapchat asking whether she had met her friends. He said he had stored his number in her phone because “we were happy together and to meet her again”. The court was told that although she later saw the message, she did not respond

Muhammad, who said his first language is Zaghawa, explained that he had arrived in the United Kingdom in early 2021 aged 16 or 17, having fled conflict in Sudan. His current immigration status has not been disclosed. He denies two counts of rape and maintains that the sexual activity was entirely consensual.

The trial continues.

Well, that’s all for now. But until our next article, please stay tuned, stay informed, but most of all stay safe, and I’ll see you then.