Superdry co-founder accused of raping woman after night out in Cheltenham
James Holder, 54, denies charges of rape and assault by penetration.
The co-founder of clothing firm Superdry raped a woman after a night out drinking, a court has heard.
James Holder, 54, went back to the woman’s home, went to the toilet and then promptly fell asleep on her bed.
The fashion boss then woke up, beckoned the woman, who was trying to sleep in the lounge, into her bedroom and raped her, the court was told.
James Haskell, prosecuting, said: “The prosecution case is that James Holder sexually assaulted and raped a woman in the early hours of May 7 2022.
“There is no dispute in this case that Mr Holder did engage in some sort of sexual activity with her.
“But he says all the sexual activity that occurred was consensual and he reasonably believed it was so.”
Gloucester Crown Court, sitting in Cirencester, heard the allegations took place at the woman’s home after a night-out at a bar in Cheltenham.
At the end of the night, the woman arranged for a taxi to take her home and while sat in the front passenger seat, realised Holder and another man had got into the rear seats.
“She said there had been no discussions with her about sharing a taxi,” Mr Haskell said.
“She said she told the taxi driver the two men would be going to a different address.
“She told the police that the taxi stopped at her property and she was aware of the two men getting out of her taxi as well, and she said they followed her into her flat."
The court heard that both men used the toilet and when Holder had not returned for some time, the woman went to see where he was and found him asleep on top of her bed fully clothed and snoring.
The woman filmed him and sent the clip to friends, telling them: “So considerate.”
She then grabbed cushions and settled down to sleep on her lounge floor because another man had already fallen asleep on her sofa.
“She told the police she must have drifted off to sleep herself and the next thing she was aware was James Holder appearing in the doorway of her living room,” Mr Haskell said.
“She told him it was late and he should go back to sleep, and told him to go back the room he came from, and he replied, ‘Can’t you show me?’.
“She got up to show him back to the room he was sleeping in. James Holder told her that she should come into the bedroom too.
“She said no, she was tired, and she said he pulled her on the bed.
“She said that he continued to touch her. She described him pulling off her lower clothing. She said she tried to stop him.
“From time to time he would say sorry but then carried on. She was telling him to stop.
“At one point she remembered starting to cry but even then he didn’t stop.”
The court heard the woman managed to escape from him and left the bedroom, and it was not long before Holder left.
The woman later reported the allegations to the police and gave a video-recorded interview to detectives in July 2022.
“She explained that James Holder had been one of the people behind Superdry until he had started a new business,” Mr Haskell said.
“She described herself in the police interview as quite drunk that night.
“You will hear some voice note messages she sent to her friends and you might think she was pretty drunk by the end of the night.
“The prosecution say that because of her intoxication she was more vulnerable.
“It is the prosecution case that James Holder exploited that vulnerability.”
Holder, of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, denies charges of rape and assault by penetration.
The trial continues.