R v JEH

Facts

The appellant was tried at the Crown Court at Winchester before HHJ Jane Miller KC on an indictment charging one count of attempted rape, contrary to section 1(1) of the Criminal Attempts Act 1981, and one count of rape, contrary to section 1(1) of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. The prosecution case was that on 27 June 2025 the appellant met the complainant at a nightclub in Portsmouth, and that in the early hours of 28 June 2025 the pair, with a friend each, went back to the appellant's student accommodation, where the appellant dragged the complainant into his room, pursued her into the bathroom and attempted to rape her in the shower, and later raped her on his bed. The complainant reported the matter to the police on the evening of 28 June 2025; a medical examination on 29 June 2025 produced a mixed DNA profile representing both her and the appellant. The appellant, who answered no comment in interview, gave evidence that intercourse was consensual. On 2 December 2025 the jury convicted unanimously on both counts. It then emerged that the capture card given to the jury for their retirement had erroneously included the complainant's video recorded ABE interview. On 9 December 2025 the trial judge certified the case fit for appeal under section 1(2) of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968, and sentence was postponed.