Consent is at the heart of teen actor rape allegations, prosecutor tells court (From Sutton Guardian)

Prosecutor closes case in actor rape trial

8:00am Saturday 23rd March 2013 in News By Sophia Sleigh, Reporter

The prosecutor in a case of a teenage actor accused of raping a 14-year-old boy told the jury the issue of consent is at the heart of the case.

The south London actor, now 17, is charged with one count of rape and three of sexual assault between July and September 2010.

He is alleged to have performed sex acts on his alleged victim, in one instance while the defendant's girlfriend blocked the escape, while the pair were at a stage school in a London theatre. He has been on trial at Brackfriars Crown Court this week.

Summing up yesterday afternoon, prosecutor Timothy Forster said: "This is a case like many of those cases where it is one person's word against another.

"The fact that we have to decide between two people has not made the case impossible to solve but does make this a difficult case."

The actor, who cannot be named for legal reasons, admitted having sexual relations with the boy but says they were consensual.

Mr Forster added: "It is worth remembering it is a very difficult allegation for someone to make. We can all agree both these young men would rather have been somewhere else than standing in court."

He told the jury the alleged attacks could have been a set-up orchestrated by the defendant and his girlfriend.

The defence will sum up on Monday, followed by the judge and then the jury will retire to consider its verdict.