A MAN accused of raping a woman and whose DNA was said to be on her genitalia told jurors he had consensual sex with her days before the alleged attack.

Justin Finnerty, of Roman Way, Bicester, denies two counts of rape and one count of assault by penetration.

At the start of his trial at Oxford Crown Court this week jurors were told how the 22-year old had been on a night out in Bicester along with the woman and others on a night in July.

On returning to his Bicester flat with the alleged victim – who cannot be named for legal reasons – along with his girlfriend, prosecutors allege that he carried out a sex assault before raping her twice.

Finnerty took to the witness box as his trial continued yesterday and told the court that both he and the alleged victim had smoked cannabis before heading home from the night out, and that both had felt sick as a result of the drugs.

Denying he had ever carried out the sex assault or rape he told jurors: “I went to the kitchen to get water, [my girlfriend] was making sure [the alleged victim] had everything she needed in the sense of a bucket and glass of water.

“She was sat up and hunched over. I had thrown up in the sink as well.

“While in the kitchen being sick I was trying to drink water but it didn’t really help and all that was running through my head was I want to go to bed.

“The only time I was ever really next to her while she was on the sofa was to help her lie down. She was struggling, she was hunched over.”

He repeated that he had not raped the woman or sexually assaulted her and said ‘nothing like that ever happened.’

Explaining DNA evidence which prosecutors allege shows that his semen was identified inside her genital area he said that he had had consensual sex with the woman days before the alleged sex attack.

Asked why he had not admitted that at the first opportunity he said: “That was a lie. The incident that happened was the only prior occasion and I was very embarrassed and very guilty about it.

“It was something I would rather have forgotten.

"It was not something I was keen to bring up and talk about.”

Asked how he felt when learning of the allegations he said he was ‘mortified’.

Finnerty was also quizzed by his defence barrister Brent Martin on how well sound travelled from the upstairs bedroom to the downstairs living room in which the woman was left on a sofa.

He told jurors that sound travelled very well and that footsteps could be heard very easily on the staircase leading to the downstairs lounge.

Jurors were also shown photographs of the flat which appeared to show the sofa in which the woman was allegedly assaulted clearly in view from the top of the stars.

Finnerty said that his girlfriend, who was home at the time of the alleged ordeal, was sat on the bed in the upstairs bedroom and that the door to that room was always left open.

The court went on to hear that Finnerty only realised the woman had left when he was woken up to a slam on the door.

He said he went on to receive ‘threatening’ messages from the woman’s partner about what had allegedly taken place.

Earlier in the trial prosecutor Amanda Hamilton told jurors Finnerty ‘didn’t reasonably believe’ that the woman consented.

She said: “He performed full intercourse with her without her consent and didn’t reasonably believe she consented because she was in a terrible state.

“And he returned to rape her a second time, knowing that she could not give any consent.”

The trial continues.