James Holder, a co-founder of the clothing brand Superdry, has been convicted of raping a woman following a night out in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. The verdict was delivered at Gloucester Crown Court, sitting in Cirencester, where a jury found him guilty of rape but acquitted him of assault by penetration.
The Incident
The court heard that on the night in question, Holder, 54, had initially planned to take a taxi back to his Cotswolds mansion with a male friend. However, the pair instead entered the victim's taxi and went to her flat, where the assault occurred. Prosecutor James Haskell stated that despite the woman asking Holder to stop and beginning to cry, he continued. Her intoxicated state made her more vulnerable, the court was told.
There was no dispute that sexual activity took place, but Holder maintained it was consensual, while the victim asserted she had been raped. After the verdict, Holder was remanded into custody, with recorder David Chidgey denying his bail application.
Defendant's Claims
In a police interview, Holder described himself as "old-school and chivalrous." When questioned in court about his conduct that evening, he insisted he had behaved chivalrously and looked after the woman throughout. He rejected suggestions that he was used to doing exactly what he wanted. When asked why he left the flat shortly after the rape, Holder explained that he had been out longer than anticipated and needed to go home, adding that the victim was asleep on the bed.
Defence barrister Michelle Heeley KC suggested to the victim that the encounter was a drunken sexual encounter she regretted, but the woman firmly denied this.
Background
Holder, a graphic design student, initially founded the skateboarding and BMX fashion label Bench. In 2003, he co-founded Superdry with Julian Dunkerton, starting from a market stall in Cheltenham. The first physical store opened in Covent Garden, London, in 2004, and the brand now boasts over 60 stores in the UK and numerous locations worldwide.
For anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse, support is available: In the UK, Rape Crisis offers helplines (England and Wales: 0808 500 2222; Scotland: 0808 801 0302; Northern Ireland: 0800 0246 991). In the US, Rainn can be reached at 800-656-4673. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). International helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html.
