Summary
The co-founder of clothing firm Superdry, who is accused of raping a woman, refused to go home when he was put into a taxi after a night out drinking, a court heard. James Holder, 54, was drunk and a taxi was organised to take him and his friend back to his large home in the Cotswolds after a night out in Cheltenham, Gloucester Crown Court heard.
Details
But instead, Holder and the friend got out of their taxi and got into the taxi of the woman he is accused of raping hours later at her home, jurors were told. The court heard there was no dispute sexual activity took place between the multi-millionaire businessman and the woman, but Holder insists it was consensual.
The trial, which is sitting in Cirencester, heard evidence from witnesses who had been out on the evening of May 6, 2022 in Cheltenham. One told the court she had arranged for a taxi to take the defendant and his friend back to his home in the Cotswolds. “I flagged him down a taxi.
They both got into the taxi. James said: ‘I am not going home’,” she said. The woman said she then flagged down a second taxi for the complainant and put her in the front passenger seat.
“The two guys got out the taxi and into the back seat of her taxi. I said to the taxi driver: ‘There’s two drops,'” she told the court.
“Because she had already got into the taxi, I told the driver to take her home and when the two guys got in, I said: ‘There’s a second drop,’ and that was that.” Later, the woman said she tried phoning the complainant to check she had got home, but got no answer, and instead phoned Holder’s friend who handed his phone over to the complainant.
“I just remember checking that she got home safely, and it seemed like the guys are there,” the woman said. “She said she was fine. I could hear music in the background.
She said she was making gin drinks and it’s fine. We were speaking for a couple of minutes, and I was quite worried because she seemed quite drunk.” The woman said she offered her spare bedroom to the complainant, but she declined.