Cardiff: 24-year-old man denies assault and rape of homeless woman

A man accused of twice raping a woman in Cardiff city centre and filming the attack on his mobile phone has denied the allegations.

Liam Stimpson, 24, from Cardiff, said the 40-year-old woman told him she wanted “rough sex”.

He told the jury at Cardiff Crown Court that she consented to sex and asked him to record it as part of a sexual role play.

He denies two charges of rape, inducing a person to engage in sexual acts without their consent and intentionally causing grievous bodily harm.

Warning: Contains disturbing content

Dressed in a blue suit and tie, he drove to Cardiff on Boxing Day last year to celebrate his birthday with a friend.

He said he met the woman, whom he described as a “working girl,” while walking downtown in the early hours of Dec. 27.

He said she offered him oral sex for £20 in an alley off St Mary’s Street.

Mr Stimpson also claims the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, stole £250 from him.

He told the court that she agreed to further sex and the couple walked under the railway bridge near Cardiff Central Station.

In a series of video clips shown to the jury, the woman can be seen naked and bleeding, with a swollen right eye and a bloody nose. According to Mr Stimpson, the bleeding was caused by her slipping and falling on the way to the bridge.

At one point in the video, she is seen folding her hands in prayer, tears streaming down her face, and she is heard saying, “Don’t make me feel bad, baby, please don’t make me feel bad.”

Mr Stimpson claimed they discussed what would happen in the role play before he started recording and told the court that “everything was consensual”.

He said: “She suggested the role play, she suggested that I record it.

“She knew she was being filmed and she went all out for the camera.”

He told the court: “She could have left of her own free will at any time.”