Police officer accused of rape tells Chelmsford Crown Court he thought he was about to start relationship
A Metropolitan police officer is on trial
Last updated 5th Nov 2021
A Metropolitan Police officer on trial accused of rape thought he was about to begin a relationship with the woman, a court has heard.
James Geoghegan, 27, said the pair had consensual sex and it was a "complete shock" when he awoke to the woman's flatmate telling him to leave or she would call the police.
In a prepared statement given to police, which was read to jurors at Chelmsford Crown Court, the defendant said the woman had asked him after he awoke: "Did you not hear me say no?"
"It was a complete shock, I didn't know what she was on about," he said.
"She said she had said no to having sex.
"I was so shocked.
"I genuinely thought we were going to wake up and spend the day together and start seeing each other like we were saying the night before.
"I was so shocked because as far as I knew we just had passionate sex with each other and it was really good and things were good between us."
The defendant, from Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, denies rape.
In his prepared statement, he said that he and the woman had taken a taxi to her home together in December 2018.
He said they "danced, mainly to (rapper) Drake" and "grinded" together at her home.
He said he offered to sleep on the sofa but she "insisted" he sleep in her bed.
"She laughingly said we were going to have a cuddle and a spoon," he said.
He said they had both been drinking but had been "having long and involved conversations".
The response officer, whose mother was in court, wiped tears from his eyes as defence barrister Nicholas Corsellis QC said Geoghegan had waited a long time for the case to be heard.
He is "currently suspended from being a police officer because of this", Mr Corsellis said.
The defendant said he spoke to the woman on a night out before they went to her flat together.
He said he had joked about proposing to her and going on a honeymoon.
"We were laughing and joking but the undertone was serious - I thought we were going to be together after this," he said.
He went on: "I genuinely thought that (the woman) and I were going to be together like we said... we always said we were going to be together, I thought that was happening."
He said they took a taxi to her home and she invited him in.
Asked by Mr Corsellis if he thought he and the woman were "going to have sex no matter what", the defendant replied: "No, definitely not".
Geoghegan said he "definitely thought she was attracted to me".
He said that after they brushed their teeth in the bathroom, she told him he would be "sleeping in her bed with her and we were going to have a cuddle and a spoon".
He said she "put her arms round my waist and led me into her room".
The trial continues