Man on trial for alleged alcohol-fuelled teen rape

Monday 17 December 2018

A 40-year-old man, who admits plying a teenage girl with cannabis and “a significant amount of alcohol”, this morning faced the first day of a trial into whether he also raped and indecently assaulted her.

Derek David Allen appeared in the Royal Court this morning, where he was accused of committing the offences in the early hours of 8 March 2018. He denies the charges.

The jury of nine men and three women heard that the night before the alleged incident, Mr Allen had encouraged the girl to come and drink with him at his flat.

Crown Advocate Matthew Maletroit said they chatted, listened to music and that Mr Allen gave the girl vodka and rum-based drinks, leading her to become very intoxicated. 

Pictured: Mr Allen admitted having drinks with the girl, which included rum and vodka.

The following morning Mr Allen left the flat to buy some cannabis. He offered the girl some, but she only took a small amount because she was still unwell.

After this, the girl says Mr Allen kissed her, before putting his hands down her pants. She repeatedly told him not to do so, but the court heard that he didn't stop, took her trousers and pants off and got on top of her. 

According to the teen, Mr Allen "didn’t take notice of anything she was saying”. She says he then raped her, and that "no matter how many times she said ‘no’, he continued”. 

The Crown Advocate told the jury that the girl described the memory of as “harrowing” and that during the alleged rape, she felt like “her mind wasn’t there anymore”.

However, she was eventually said to have snapped, telling him to stop. She then said that she got dressed and left the flat before going to Police HQ, where she was seen by an officer who described her as being in a "distressed state”. 

The Crown Advocate told the jury that the girl was wearing her trousers inside out and that she was barefoot. "She left her shoes in the flat which might indicate the hurry she was in to get out," he added. 

He said that the girl was worried about the consequences of her accusation, making her account “all the more credible” for the Crown. 

Mr Allen was arrested shortly after, found naked from the waist down by Police. He was seen by a Forensic Medical Examiner (FME), whom he told he had shared a consensual kiss with the girl. However, he said he didn't recall anything that happened after that, due to being intoxicated. 

The Crown Advocate said that this was not a defence, adding that Mr Allen had also refused to provide any intimate samples for testing.

He went on to urge the jury to draw a distinction between ‘consent’ and ‘submission’, saying that that the girl had been "overcome by the defendant and submitted to his touching without her consent."

The jury heard that samples taken from the girl matched Mr Allen's DNA, while her DNA had been found in the inner crotch area of Mr Allen's jeans. The FME found a bruise on the side of the girl's neck, redness on both her upper arms as well as injury to her private parts. 

"What were Mr Allen's intentions?" the Crown Advocate asked the jury. "This case involves a 40-year-old man inviting a [teenager] to his flat late at night, giving her a significant amount of alcohol and drugs before making sexual advances to her. When discussing the defendant’s intentions, you might easily find he was taking advantage of her."