2nd man charged over boat rape claim
(CNS): Two men have now been charged in connection with an alleged rape of a 53-year-old woman aboard a boat earlier this month. The second man, a 26-year-old from West Bay who was charged and bailed today, and his 44-year-old co-defendant will appear on 8 December in Grand Court. The men are accused of raping and sexually assaulting the woman overnight on 21/22 November on the vessel while it was docked near the Shores in West Bay. Both men have denied the charges.
The eldest of the two men has claimed the sexual activity was consensual, while the younger man has denied touching the woman at all. As the court heard the details of the case Thursday, the attorney for the second man said his client had handed himself into the police as soon as he heard his name being connected with the allegations and has vehemently denied playing any part in the sexual assault.
The prosecutors told the court that the woman was invited on a night-time fishing trip by a friend and understood that there would be several people going along. When she arrived at the boat she was asked to prepare food as the men struggled to start the boat. She said no other women ever arrived and she began to become suspicious. When both the men went below deck, she later followed and discovered they were smoking crack cocaine.
She claims that soon after she raised her objections and said she wanted to go home, she was attacked by the older man while the second man held her down. She told police that she was raped by both men throughout the night before she was driven away and left by the roadside.
