University Challenge man not guilty of rape attack

A FORMER student who appeared on the BBC TV quiz show

has been cleared of raping a woman in her halls of residence.

Bartholomeo Joly de Lotbiniere, 22, was found not guilty of charges of rape and assault by penetration following a retrial at Bradford Crown Court.

He told the court the consensual sexual encounter with his fellow student in June 2014 was an embarrassment because he failed to perform.

The woman, now 22, went to police after seeing Joly de Lotbiniere on the television programme a year later. She said she saw a tweet by

host Richard Osman about the defendant’s name and “just got angry and upset”.

During the five-day trial, the jury was told how the woman alleged the defendant had sex without her consent in her room at the University of York after a night out at the end of the academic year.

Mr Joly de Lotbiniere denied raping the woman and told police “these are horrible, horrible lies”.

He described to the court how he and the woman were part of a group that had gone out drinking in York and had returned to the woman’s hall of residence.

The defendant said he was embarrassed by being unable to perform sexually and wanted to leave. Mr Joly de Lotbiniere denied the woman had tried to push him off.

The former history student, who has appeared on

sobbed in the dock with a handkerchief pressed to his eyes as the verdicts were read out. He hugged his family in the gallery.

Mr Joly de Lotbiniere, of Kensal Rise, London, faced a retrial after the jury at his original trial at York Crown Court in February were unable to reach verdicts.