Superdry co-founder James Holder guilty of rape

The co-founder of fashion chain Superdry has been found guilty of raping a woman after a night out.

James Holder, 54, of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, had gone back to the woman's home, went to the toilet and then fell asleep on her bed.

The multi-millionaire fashion boss then woke up and beckoned the woman, who was trying to sleep in the lounge, into her bedroom and raped her.

Holder had denied charges of assault by penetration and rape and said what sexual activity took place between them was consensual.

A jury at Gloucester Crown Court acquitted Holder of assault by penetration but found him guilty of rape.

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The court heard the woman was attacked in the early hours of 7 May 2022 after a night out at a bar in Cheltenham.

Holder and a friend had gone back to her home uninvited, and he attacked her after waking from a brief nap on her bed.

Giving evidence, the woman said she was crying and asking the married father-of-two to stop, but he continued.

The ordeal ended when she managed to escape the bedroom, and Holder left her home a short time later.

The woman denied suggestions from Holder's barrister that she had initiated the encounter.

Michelle Heeley KC, defending, said: "This was a drunken sexual encounter that you regret?"

She replied: "Incorrect."

The court heard businessman and philanthropist Holder was "old school and chivalrous" towards women and "adored sex".

He told the jury she had kissed him first and it was "evident what she wanted to happen".

Holder was remanded into custody ahead of sentencing at Bristol Crown Court on 7 May.

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