Man faces judge on six rape charges
A MAN allegedly sexually assaulted a woman after losing his temper and punching her in the face.
When the woman complained to police about Derek Charles Horbury, it led to another woman making similar allegations against him.
The 46-year-old, of Trewen, Denbigh, denies six charges of rape, one of attempted rape and one of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Opening the prosecution case at Caernarfon Crown Court on Monday, Simon Rogers told the jury that the incident which brought Horbury to the police’s attention is said to have taken place in November 2014.
He said the woman was sending a text message to a friend when Horbury began shouting and losing his temper.
“He grabbed the phone from her and threw it against a wall,” said Mr Rogers.
“He then punched her to the face. It seems she didn’t see the punch coming.”
Horbury is then alleged to have carried out two sexual assaults against the woman. Mr Rogers told the jury the woman was “deeply shocked” and had suffered a black eye.
“In the days that followed, she spoke about the incident with friends and later told the police,” he said.
Arrested and interviewed, Horbury denied the allegations. Fur- ther inquiries led to detectives contacting and interviewing the other woman, who told of other sexual assaults by Horbury over a number of years.
She claimed to have been sexually assaulted by Horbury on a number of occasions, incidents which formed the basis of five of the rape charges laid against him, said Mr Rogers.
Arrested and interviewed about these matters, Horbury again denied the allegations, claimed the woman “liked a story”, and insisted the incidents had never happened.
The trial, which is expected to last four days, continues.