Alex Hepburn found guilty of raping a sleeping woman

The former Worcestershire all-rounder Alex Hepburn has been found guilty of raping a sleeping woman. The cricketer had earlier rubbished all the allegations and had claimed that he had consensual sex with the woman and she was aware of all the happenings. However, the court heard the woman saying that she was having sex with Hepburn’s then county team-mate Joe Clarke at the players’ flat in Worcester.

She admitted of the fact that she had consensual sex with Joe Clarke following a night-out in April 2017. But then Clarke left the bedroom after some time only to be joined by Hepburn who had drunk up to 20 bottles of beer. Hepburn claimed that the woman rolled over the bed and kissed him and believed it was a consensual sex.

However, the victim told that she had her eyes closed and was engaged in 20 minutes of sex with Alex Hepburn before realising that he was not Clarke after he spoke.

Judge’s beforehand verdict

The jury hearing the case came out with a unanimous guilty verdict after close to 11 hours of deliberations according to The Guardian. The judge Jim Tindal then cleared to Alex Hepburn that there is only one sentence and it is inevitable for him now to go to jail.

“I am adjourning your case for the preparation of a pre-sentence report. It would not be a kindness to you to leave you under any false impression as to the purpose of that report. There is only one sentence that can properly be handed down in this case, and a custodial sentence is inevitable,” the judge said. Hepburn will be sentenced at Hereford crown court on April 30.

Moreover, Hepburn was also accused of a further count of rape relating to the same victim after a four-day trial at Worcester crown court. But the jury cleared him of that accusation while giving its final verdict.

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