Man convicted of raping teenage girl

Wednesday 19 December 2018

A jury of nine men and three women have unanimously convicted a 40-year-old man of the rape and indecent assault of a teenage girl.

Derek David Allen faced a three-day jury trial in the Royal Court this week for one count of rape and one count of indecent assault, both of which he denied.

He was accused by the teenage girl of having raped and indecently assaulted her in the early hours of 8 March, after giving her a significant amount of vodka and rum-based drinks as well as cannabis. The girl said she had not consented to any sexual contact with Mr Allen. He said they had shared a consensual kiss but couldn't remember anything that had happened after.

Forensic analysis found that Mr Allen's DNA was on internal swabs taken from the girl, while her DNA was found on the inside of Mr Allen's jeans, around the crotch area.

Summing up the case and giving his directions to the jury, the Deputy Bailiff, Tim Le Cocq, said the burden of proof lay with the prosecution, while Mr Allen, who didn't give evidence in court, didn't have to prove anything. 

He told the Jury that Mr Allen was a man of good character but that this wasn't evidence in itself. He added that it simply meant Mr Allen might be less likely to commit a crime and that this was a matter the jury should have regards to, when considering their verdict.

The Deputy Bailiff urged the jury to consider both counts separately, stating that they could convict Mr Allen of one and not the other. 

Pictured: The Deputy Bailiff told the Jury that it was up to the prosecution to prove Allen had committed the offences he was accused of.

He then went on to explain what consent is, saying that it needs to be given when the woman has the "freedom and capacity to make a choice." He told the jury that if they thought Mr Allen "mistakenly believed" the girl had consented because of how much alcohol he had consumed, they should convict him, as he would have been reckless.

The Deputy Bailiff also said that the jury should not assume that because a woman is inebriated, she is looking for sex. He however added that alcohol can make people less inhibited. 

The jury retired for nearly six hours before returning their unanimous verdict. As a result of his conviction, Allen has been placed on the Sex Offenders' Register.

He has been remanded in custody and will be appearing in court this Friday when a date for his sentencing will be set.