‘RAPIST’ ROW OVER HUNTING DEATH CYCLIST
CLAIMS AND DENIALS AS RAPE ALLEGATIONS SURFACE AGAINST BIKER SHOT DEAD BY HUNTER
THE father and girlfriend of a Welsh mountain biker killed by a stray bullet from a hunter while cycling in the French Alps have defended him against rape allegations.
The two spoke out after the allegations emerged against Marc Sutton, 34, of Caerphilly, who was shot while mountain biking near the Alps resort of Morzine.
They said the allegations against the restaurateur, who ran Wild Beets Kitchen in Les Gets with girlfriend Jo Watts, 35, stemmed from a bitter family feud.
The allegations came from a sister of Mr Sutton, Katie Toghill of Nantyglo, Blaenau Gwent, who said she was speaking out after seeing the tributes being paid to him.
She told The Sun that he repeatedly raped, threatened and physically abused her as a child.
Mother-of-one Ms Toghill, who the newspaper reported had waived her anonymity as a sexual assault accuser, said he raped her about 100 times.
“He would take advantage of me in his bedroom while mum was downstairs,” the 32-year-old added.
“He threatened that if I told anyone he would kill me, everyone would hate me, and no-one would believe me.”
Mr Sutton’s girlfriend Ms Watts said she was devastated that people were making the allegations when he could not defend himself.
She said: “Of course I’m shattered by his death, his life taken so violently by a hunter while he innocently rode his bike on a popular track.
“Now to add to all that I’m devastated people have chosen now to make these allegations – nothing to do with how he died – when Marc is not here to defend himself.”
The cyclist’s father, John Sutton, said he had reported his ex-wife Katrina and the victim to the police for making the story up and harassment.
He told MailOnline: “I have been to police and made a report that these allegations are all lies, completely false, and it’s harassment.”
He blamed a “family feud”, adding: “I’m devastated they would try to blacken his name now that he’s dead, it’s hard enough to come to terms with how he died.”
The Sun also spoke to a former partner of Mr Sutton, who described him as a “psycho”, and the paper reported he was jailed for six months for punching a girlfriend.
Their mother, Katrina, told the paper he did not deny the allegations when Ms Toghill shared them later in life.
French prosecutors said Marc Sutton was cycling down a mountain in Montriond at about 6pm on Saturday when he passed a group of hunters.
Reports said a 22-year-old man was taken to hospital with shock and was being investigated on suspicion of aggravated manslaughter.