Teen accused of raping girl in Gosport says the pair had consensual sex and a row erupted after he told her he was gay

Kieran Corless, 18, of no fixed abode, is on trial at Portsmouth Crown Court accused of strangling a girl before tying her up and raping her last year.

However, during a cross-examination of the teenage victim – who can’t be identified for legal reasons – Corless’s defence counsel Unyime Davies said he had never raped the girl.

She claimed her client visited the girl on the morning of November 13 but that the pair had had consensual sex.

Ms Davies told the court an argument between the pair had erupted when Corless admitted to the girl after having sex with her that he might be gay and wasn’t attracted to her.

She claimed this prompted the victim to slap Corless across the face – and that this slap was not in self-defence, as had previously been claimed in court.

‘The reason that you were angry is because after the two of you had sex, Kieran said he was struggling because he thought he might be gay,’ Ms Davies said.

During cross-examination, the girl admitted for the first time that she spat at Corless.

‘The reason you spat at him was because he said he thought he might be gay and he was struggling with it and that made you feel upset and angry and made you feel rejected and perhaps somewhat used,’ Ms Davies said.

The court heard how the girl said after the attack her eyes had been swollen and bloodshot from where she had been strangled.

Dr Eleanor Birtley, a forensics specialist at Portsmouth’s Treetops sexual assault referral centre assessed the girl.

She said the teenager had bloodshot eyes which could be linked to strangulation but she added it was not possible to confirm if this injury had been caused as a result of choking.

Corless, denies rape, sex assault, attempting to render someone unconscious, insensible or incapable of resistance with intent and putting a person in fear of violence through harassment.

(Proceeding)