Rape trial delayed (From Tewkesbury Admag)

Rape trial delayed

1:45pm Friday 16th May 2008 in News

THE trial of a 34-year-old Tewkesbury man accused of rape and sexual assault was put off for four months today because of the volatile emotional state of his pregnant alleged victim.

Neil Rogers of Lee Road, has pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting the 17-year-old woman and to raping her in September last year His trial was listed for May 28th - but today the prosecution asked for it to be put back until September.

Ed Burgess, prosecuting, said "The complainant is pregnant and due to give birth on July 19.

"The officer in the case has spoken to her midwife today - she is in a highly volatile state emotionally."

Agreeing to take the case out of the list and put it back until September 22, Judge Martin Picton told Rogers: "It is a huge ordeal for a witness to give evidence in such a case as this and to expect her to go through that ordeal at this stage of her pregnancy would be wrong.

"I regret the trial cannot take place on the date it was listed. It seems to me the reasons that it cannot are compelling."