Burnley towpath rape trial

THE trial of a Bangladeshi man accused of carrying out sex attacks on two women on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal towpath at Burnley has started.

He insists that they consented to sex, though he might have had a problem with having sex with his pregnant wife, and had not used force on the two women, and denies one charge of attempted rape and another of rape.

Grabbed by the throat

The prosecution has alleged he spoke to the women then grabbed them by the throats, dragging them to a secluded spot by the waterway. Specimens of his DNA was told to have been recovered in both cases.

In both instances he met the women on a canal bridge, but insisted he thought they were prostitutes, and then they went down onto the canal towpath. He denies using strength against the two women.

The man was an illegal immigrant, being allowed to stay in the country for six months, but remaining. The case continues.