A MAN accused of raping a woman has described how the alleged victim asked him for sex.
Neil Chadwick (58) has gone on trial in the Royal Court for allegedly having sex with the woman in a caravan while she was too drunk to consent.
Mr Chadwick denies one count of rape.
Giving evidence in court yesterday, he told jurors he met the woman at a party, explaining that he walked her to the caravan.
Crown Advocate Lauren Hallam, prosecuting, said: “She was intoxicated, she was alone, she had no way of getting home.”
Mr Chadwick replied: “She was not alone. She was with friends.
“I did not know [the alleged victim] before that evening. I did not know who her friends were.”
Advocate Hallam argued that the woman had been “vulnerable”.
Mr Chadwick said: “Vulnerable? She was stumbling, laughing, giggling. ‘Vulnerable’ is a word I wouldn’t use.
“Intoxicated, yes.”
Mr Chadwick admitted the woman appeared drunk when she got to the caravan, but said when he returned around an hour and a half later she had asked for sex.
Advocate Hallam said: “You had been speaking to [the woman]; you had seen her face was slightly swollen and red and, out of concern, you offered her treatment in the form of ice.
“What changed from you thinking that way to thinking it was appropriate to have sex with her?”
Mr Chadwick said: “Because she asked me to.”
He added: “We had a conversation on my return.”
The defendant said: “I’m a respectable person. I treat women with respect. I treat men with respect.”
He added: “It’s been suggested that I punched her. If you could just understand how ludicrous this is.
“Anyone who knows my character knows this is not the truth. It’s not me.”
Advocate Mike Preston, defending, read out statements from 12 people in support of Mr Chadwick, who was described as a “kind” man who took care of his mother and checked in regularly with friends.
One said: “Neil is very respectful towards women. I have never seen anything that has given me cause for concern.”
Mr Chadwick also described how the trial had affected him, saying he suffered from anxiety and struggled to understand some of the documents put in front of him.
Commissioner Alan Binnington is presiding.
The trial is due to conclude today.
