A MAN accused of raping and sexually assaulting a vulnerable teenage girl in Snow Hill car park has claimed she instigated the sexual contact – and he had been ‘a bit shocked’ by her behaviour.
Joseph Raymond Lloyd was giving evidence on the third day of his trial in the Royal Court.
The 64-year-old grandfather is accused of raping and assaulting the teenager after following her through the town centre on an evening last year. He denies rape and sexual penetration without consent.
Answering questions from Advocate Mike Preston, defending, Mr Lloyd admitted he had seen the girl after leaving the Dog & Sausage pub in Halkett Street at around 11.20pm on the evening in question.
He said: ‘She looked very upset. All her make-up was running down her face.
‘She said: “Can you get me a taxi?” She said that about three times.’
Mr Lloyd said there had been no taxis at the Snow Hill taxi rank so he planned to cut through the car park and hail one from the road.
He said: ‘She grabbed my hand. I was a bit shocked. She asked me to give her a kiss.’
Mr Lloyd admitted he had kissed her, and said: ‘I don’t normally do things like that.
‘I’ve never been unfaithful to my wife.’
The defendant claimed the girl had suggested they go behind a parked van, and he added: ‘I thought it was just for a kiss and a cuddle.’
But he said she had then put her hand inside his trousers and had taken his hand and put it inside her underwear.
He said sexual intercourse had not taken place. Mr Lloyd added: ‘Then she started to get quite agitated. I tried to calm her down.
‘She was acting like she couldn’t breathe. I put my hands on her shoulders and asked: “Are you alright?”’
Advocate Matthew Maletroit, prosecuting, pointed out that Mr Lloyd’s account sometimes contradicted the one he had given the police at the time of his arrest. Mr Lloyd had told them that he had not seen the girl until she walked out of the car park, the court heard.
He said: ‘I had had too much to drink and my mind was a blur.’
The advocate said: ‘You say the girl came on to you, she instigated the kiss, she instigated the sexual contact, and it was her idea to go behind the van. So you’re the victim in the situation?’
Mr Lloyd replied: ‘You could say that, yes.’
Deputy Bailiff Robert MacRae asked him why the girl had sent text messages asking for help at the exact time that they were in the car park.
He said: ‘I haven’t got a clue.’
Mr Lloyd’s wife also gave evidence yesterday, describing her husband as ‘a kind, gentle, generous man who would do anything for anybody’.
She also said Mr Lloyd relied on Viagra for sexual activity but the medication did not work when mixed with alcohol, so he would not have been capable of raping the girl.
The trial continues.
