James Clacher trial: Woman denies giving ‘lap dance’ to man she has accused of ‘raping her on their first date’
A woman has denied giving a “lap dance” to a man she has accused of raping her on their first date.
The alleged victim refuted the defence’s claims during the trial of James Clacher, 57, at the High Court in Glasgow.
Clacher has pleaded not guilty to the rape of two women – one in Troon, South Ayrshire, in 2019 and the other in Glasgow in 2020.
He has lodged a special defence, claiming any sex was consensual.
The video testimony of the second alleged victim continued on Friday.
She had earlier told the court that she matched with Clacher on dating app Bumble.
The pair met at her flat on 4 September 2020. Their evening involved getting takeaway from Nando’s before Clacher drove them to Irvine Beach in Ayrshire, where they ate in the car, talked, and took a short walk on the beach.
They then returned to the woman’s flat, where she claims Clacher raped her.
The woman refuted the defence’s claims that sexual activity took place before the pair went out to dinner.
Clacher’s team put it to the complainer that when they returned to her flat afterwards, she performed a sexual dance for the defendant.
His lawyer stated: “Some might call it a lap dance.”
The woman replied: “That didn’t happen.”
The complainer said she consented to “kissing and hugging” during their date, but she did not consent to any other sexual activity.
The accuser was once again questioned on discrepancies between what she testified in court and what was recorded in her police statement in regards to the alleged events, the details of which are too graphic to report.
The woman explained that it had been a number of years between the two, having initially given her police statement in 2020.
She told the court that she had put the case to the back of her mind as she did not think it would come to trial as Clacher had gone “missing”.
Read more from the trial:
Woman ‘raped within 15 minutes of meeting Tinder date for first time’
Woman ‘didn’t flee in fear her son might not have a mother right now’
Jurors also heard from a number of other witnesses, which included a male friend of the alleged 2020 victim.
The man told the court the woman’s messages following her date with Clacher appeared to be out-of-character and when he asked how the night went, she reportedly replied that “it hadn’t gone well”.
A Police Scotland constable, who spoke to the woman in the days following the alleged attack, described her demeanour as “upset, nervous and she appeared uneasy”.
Forensic examinations were also carried out on the two alleged victims, with both reports concluding there were no injuries.
Earlier this week, the alleged 2019 victim told jurors of how she was allegedly raped in her own home within 15 minutes of meeting Clacher for the first time.
The woman said moments after telling her Tinder date to “make himself comfortable” while she finished getting ready for their night out, she was reportedly pushed against a wall and brutally assaulted.
She then claimed she was further abused after being led upstairs while in a state of “shock”.
A number of messages recovered from Clacher’s mobile phone were read out on Friday.
In one message sent by the alleged 2019 victim, she wrote: “James, I can’t be unraped but I can prevent you from raping other women.”
In response to the woman threatening to go to the police, Clacher replied: “Okay, I understand, and I will speak freely to the police.”
In further messages with the first complainer, the defendant said: “I hope one day we can build a friendship.”
The court previously heard that the woman and Clacher went on to meet multiple times following the alleged attack, which included going out for the complainer’s birthday and the accused also being invited back into her home.
The trial, before judge Lord Cubie, continues.
