Sunderland footballer Jack Diamond ‘raped woman he met on dating app’ after 'promising just to cuddle'
3 January 2024, 00:43
Jack Diamond raped and sexually assaulted a woman in his own home after meeting on a dating app, a court has heard.
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The Sunderland winger, 23, assaulted the woman at his home in Falstone, Fatfield, Washington on 7 May 2022, prosecutors told the court.
He appeared at Newcastle Crown Court on Tuesday and has denied rape and sexual assault.
Prosecutor David Povall told jurors that Diamond had invited the woman to his house after meeting on the dating app Tinder.
The pair had agreed beforehand that “nothing more than cuddling would happen”.
The court heard that when the pair got into bed, "although it started with cuddling, it became clear that Jack Diamond wanted more".
Mr Povall said the woman "eventually" consented to some sexual activity but later woke up to Diamond “caressing her”.
"She asked him to stop and told him she wasn't in the mood, but he persisted," he added.
Diamond then allegedly sexually assaulted and raped the woman.
"It was only after repeated protests and pleas for him to stop that he desisted," Mr Povall said.
In a police-recorded interview, the woman said the assault “felt like it lasted forever” and that she “turned over and cried” after the first sexual assault.
She said he "grabbed her wrists" and was "quite aggressive" during the alleged rape, telling officers: "It was like a switch had gone off."
The prosecutor told jurors: "Sometime later, she realised he was messaging on his phone, and she feared that he was communicating with (Sunderland goalkeeper) Anthony Patterson, his housemate, who had previously raised the possibility of a threesome.
"She didn't want to get into that situation. Fearful of what might happen, she messaged a friend, asking for help.
"He told her to leave immediately, which she did. Her friend met her at her house, where he saw the very emotional and distressed state she was in, and he waited with her till the police arrived."
Diamond was suspended from Sunderland when he was charged in March last year. He was on loan at Lincoln City at the time but his stay was terminated.
After his arrest, Diamond told police that there had been consensual sexual activity but no intercourse, and that the woman was "jealous and possessive".
Two of the 15 potential jurors for the trial were excluded “out of an abundance of caution” after declaring they were Newcastle United season ticket holders.
Judge Edward Bindloss told potential jurors: "This trial is nothing to do with football, it is about a different allegation entirely, but we want a jury who are able to put aside all issues of support and affiliation and come to a fair and objective view.
"This is not meant in any way as a criticism of them but Mr Diamond is an employee of Sunderland football club.”
Diamond denies both charges and the trial continues.
