Man cleared of rape after court shown phone footage of woman 'actively' taking part in sex
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A businessman has been cleared of raping a university student after jurors were shown footage of the sex session taken on a mobile phone.
Gary Taylor, 41, was accused of attacking the 27-year-old woman after turning up at her flat with cocaine and a bottle of red wine.
The woman, who can't be identified for legal reasons, told jurors that Mr Taylor forced her to perform a sex act on him and then raped her in her living room.
But during cross-examination she was shown footage Mr Taylor had taken on his mobile phone during the encounter on September 26, 2008.
Mr Taylor's barrister Karen Holt said the footage showed the woman 'actively' performing a sex act on him.
Judge Christopher Moss QC closed the public gallery before a graphic clip filmed by the woman was shown to the jury.
The judge warned: 'You are going to see a clip which from what I have been told you may find extremely distasteful. To avoid making it a peep show, I have ordered the public gallery to be cleared.'
After the footage was screened, Miss Holt said to the alleged victim: 'You and Mr Taylor were very familiar with each other and comfortable in each other's presence.'
The woman said: 'I don't think I was happily talking to him.'
She also denied 'actively' performing a sex act on Mr Taylor.
The prosecution offered no evidence following advice from the judge.
Mr Taylor, who runs a multimedia company, was cleared of four charges of rape and walked free from court.
The Old Bailey heard police had arrived at the victim's flat in Wood Green, North London, in the early hours of the morning after reports of a disturbance.
She made a complaint of rape and Mr Taylor was arrested at the scene.
Giving evidence she told the court: 'He wanted to be intimate. Maybe he thought he could force me into it but he went too far.
'He thought he could be persuasive and it went too far. He kept trying to kiss me that evening and I was saying no.
'I was quite drunk. He was on top of me at some point with his hand on my mouth.'
Mr Taylor, from Hornsey, North London, denied four counts of rape, including two of rape by oral penetration.
The woman had not seen the film of her having sex with Mr Taylor before it was shown to the court.
2 Words: Gotcha, *****! :dance:
04-02-2009
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