A man accommodated in a Home Office asylum seeker hotel in Bournemouth raped and sexually assaulted a distressed woman, who had the presence of mind to secretly record the attack on her mobile phone, a court has heard.
Details of the Alleged Attack
The incident is alleged to have occurred in the early hours of June 14 this year at the woman's home. Chret Callender, 28, whose address was given as the Britannia Hotel in Bournemouth, is accused of forcing himself onto the young woman after turning up at her door following a night out. The woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, had met Callender earlier that evening in Bournemouth Pleasure Gardens.
Prosecutor Russel Pyne told Bournemouth Crown Court that the victim had offered Callender a lift to his hotel, concerned about his drunken state, but he had declined. He later appeared at her home uninvited. Although reluctant, she allowed him inside and eventually agreed to let him stay overnight. Mr Pyne stated that Callender became "talkative, argumentative" and it became clear he wanted sexual relations.
"He said to her 'Are you going to give me some loving?'" Mr Pyne told the jury. "She understood that meant sexual contact, she said no, she did not want any sexual contact between them at all." The prosecutor described how the woman repeatedly said no, told him "I don't want to" and "don't touch me", and attempted to push him off, but he allegedly persisted.
Secret Recording Captured the Crime
Fearing the defendant's "drunkenness and determination", the woman began recording the events in her bedroom on her phone. Mr Pyne said the audio captures the build-up to the rape, the rape itself, and the aftermath. The jury will hear four recordings, each approximately ten minutes long.
"As the recordings go on she's becoming increasingly upset and then crying," Mr Pyne said. "There's sections with the defendant appearing to apologise for what he has just done." The woman reported the alleged attack to police later the same day.
Defendant's Denial and Trial Context
Callender denies one count of rape and one of sexual assault. He told police he had gone to the woman's house and admitted asking "for some loving" but claims he accepted her refusal and that no sexual contact took place. No details were given in court about his nationality or length of stay in the UK, but he does not require an interpreter for the trial.
The Britannia Hotel is one of three hotels in the Dorset seaside town being used by the Home Office to house asylum seekers. The trial continues.
