British rapper Slowthai, whose real name is Tyron Frampton, has been accused of raping two women alongside his co-accused, Alex Blake-Walker, following a performance at The Bullingdon in Oxford in September 2021, as a court has heard.
Both Frampton and Blake-Walker deny all charges, asserting that all sexual activities were consensual. Frampton appeared at Oxford Crown Court accompanied by his wife, pop singer Anne-Marie, whom he secretly married in July 2022.
In the opening of the prosecution's case, barrister Heather Stangoe alleged that Frampton and Blake-Walker met a group of women before the show, offering some of them VIP tickets. One of the complainants was described as a 'huge fan'. After the performance, the group returned to one of their homes, where the alleged assault took place. The jury was informed that Frampton had set two rules for the visit: 'no phones and no boys'.
'It mattered not to them whether the subjects of their attention consented or not. As it happened, the two women in this case did not, but that did not matter to these two defendants,' Stangoe told the court.
At the house, two of the women were allegedly 'isolated' from their friends and then raped and sexually assaulted by Frampton and Blake-Walker, who reportedly 'high fived, discussed 'tag teams' and contemplated swapping the girls'. The assault is said to have ended when a friend of the women discovered what was happening. According to Stangoe, Frampton then fled the house by jumping from a balcony-style roof.
Patrick Gibbs KC, defending Frampton, told the jury that while being 'ungamely', the events from that night between his client and one of his complainants were consensual. He urged the jury to 'keep an open mind' throughout the trial, stating, 'What is in dispute is whether the women consented.'
Sheryl Nwosu, representing Blake-Walker, stated that her client denied forcing one of the women to engage in sex, asserting that 'all sexual contact and acts were consensual.' The trial is ongoing.
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