Rugby referee cleared of raping teenage girl in Cardiff Castle grounds after CCTV showed her 'kissing him'
5 December 2022, 20:34
A rugby referee has been found not guilty of raping a woman in the grounds of Cardiff Castle, after CCTV footage showed her kissing him.
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Amateur rugby ref Simeon Greenaway-Robbins, 20, was charged relating to an incident in Bute Park on November 10, 2020.
The vicar's son was accused of shoving the complainant to the ground as she came into the park.
Prosecutors allege he ripped the bottom of her bodysuit off, and raping and choking her.
Greenaway-Robbins, a nursing student from Caerphilly in Wales, said the sex was consensual.
He emphatically denied two counts of rape and told a friend that he "would not be accused of something he didn't do."
Defence lawyer David Elias KC said that the complainant's actions after the alleged attack showed that he did not rape her.
He told jurors: "She puts an arm around his waist, leans up and kisses him.
"He told you that as far as he was concerned she was happy and fine. Is the CCTV consistent with that? We say absolutely."
He added that she made the claims after she "found herself in a bit of bother when a fuss was made when she was injured, had twigs in her hair and was crying. It's quite easy to see how matters have snowballed.
Mr Elias added that Greenaway-Robbins claim that the victim had consented to give him oral sex was consistent with the mud found on her knees.
He added that Greenaway-Robbins and the defendant were in the park for between 40 and 50 minutes, which did not align with the victim's story.
Allegations of rape and sexual assault in hotel housing migrants
Mr Greenaway-Robbins was found not guilty of both counts of rape on Monday at Cardiff Crown Court.
He was told by Judge Neil Bidder KC that he was free to go and could leave the dock.
