Cleared after two trials: Joly de Lotbiniere

Three years ago, a group of teenage university students went out to celebrate the end of their first year.

With their exams behind them and summer ahead, they hit the bars and clubs of York, downing cheap spirits and alcopops with abandon. They returned to their halls of residence in the early hours, worse for wear.

What happened next would have a devastating impact on the lives of two of the 19-year-olds. It also serves as a grim warning of the problem of binge drinking at universities and the risks regarding sexual consent when alcohol is involved.

One of the students in question is Bartolomeo Joly de Lotbiniere, 22, and known as Barto to his friends. He was accused of raping a geography student, who cannot be named for legal reasons, by forcing himself on her in her bedroom.

His accuser said his advances were unwanted and she froze in terror as he undressed her and carried her to the bed.

De Lotbiniere insisted it was a 'two-way' consensual, one-night stand. 'Drunk or sober I would never rape anybody,' he told the court.

After two trials spread over seven months, a jury believed him – making him the fourth university student in recent years to be cleared of rape in similar circumstances of drunken nights out ending in allegations of sexual assault.

Earlier this year a jury in York failed to reach a verdict. However, the jury at his retrial at Bradford Crown Court found him not guilty of rape and sexual assault after six hours of deliberation yesterday.

De Lotbiniere sobbed in the dock after the verdicts were announced. He then hugged his father and other relatives who had supported him through both trials. They all declined to comment.

However, his prestigious family name will now be associated with all the lurid details of that morning in June 27, 2014, and a trial which heard him described as a sexually inexperienced 'creepy lech'. Embarrassing and difficult details to brush aside.

De Lotbiniere grew up in affluent Kensal Rise, north west London, and is from a middle-class family of high achievers.

His grandfather was the acclaimed TV documentary maker Tony de Lotbiniere, his mother Amanda, 53, is a psychologist and his father Max, 54, a journalist. He is the eldest of three children, with younger sister Aphra, 20, an art student, and brother Bede, 17.

TV stardom: De Lotbiniere appearing on BBC2’s University Challenge

Fiercely intelligent, he achieved all As or A*s in his GSCEs and A-levels at the prestigious Roman Catholic Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School. He edited the university newspaper and wrote articles for a newspaper in York during his studies.

Had it not been for his appearance on University Challenge 14 months after the alleged attack, he may well have never been charged with rape.

He appeared in six episodes of the BBC2 quiz show, presented by Jeremy Paxman, and became something of an internet sensation thanks to his unusual name, which is French-Canadian.

Richard Osman, one of the hosts on gameshow Pointless, tweeted to his half a million followers: 'Marks for surnames on University Challenge 10 out of 10 – Joly de Lotbiniere.' Others on social media described him as posh and cute.

His accuser, who is orginally from the West Country, became angry at the attention he was receiving and went to the police.

Following his arrest De Lotbiniere insisted: 'These are horrible, horrible lies... this is wrong.'

After such a long passage of time there was no forensic evidence and both juries had to rely on individual testimonies, accounts from friends and text messages.

Case dropped after 18 months: George Worrall

The first, sent by the woman two days after the incident, said she was 'not overly comfortable with what had happened'.

De Lotbiniere replied with what appears, on the face of it, to be a potentially damning message: 'I was a disgrace. I did a very stupid thing and I'm very sorry for what I did. I just hope you can forgive me at some point and I will try my best not to act like a bloody 14-year-old again and start acting my age, sorry.'

He later explained away this text by saying he was trying to apologise for his inadequate sexual performance.

'It was a failed one-night stand. I was putting across I was a big guy who could do a one-night stand and could perform. In reality I couldn't,' he said.

He said the night had 'fizzled out' leaving only 'disappointment and regret'.

He apologised again in a second text sent the next term and suggested they 'now move on as mutual friends'.

Although the woman said the messages were an acknowledgement of guilt, the jury of five men and seven women believed his version of events. During the trial the court heard details of the night they spent with three other friends at York's Tokyo nightclub (now called Fibbers) and then at notorious student nightspot Willow, which has since closed down.

After downing sambuca and vodka they returned to the halls of residence at around 4am. De Lotbiniere said he had been drinking spirits but was not 'overly drunk'.

The woman, who was single, said she had drunk sambuca and an alcopop.

Their drinking is not unusual: a survey published earlier this year of student alcohol habits at Cambridge University revealed that almost one in three admitted drinking more than the weekly recommended limit of 14 units.

Drinking to excess goes hand in hand with the risk of assault or injury, as well as presenting huge problems regarding sexual consent when either or both parties have drunk too much.

So what can be done to stem the tide of reckless alcohol consumption among students?

Barrister Cathy McCulloch defended one of the three other university rape cases involving alcohol.

He was Durham University student Alastair Cooke, 23, who walked free after being accused of raping a 23-year-old student in her home when she was very drunk and unresponsive.

Jurors at Durham Crown Court last December couldn't agree on a verdict and the prosecution decided against a retrial.

Walked free, jury couldn't decide: Alastair Cooke

Miss McCulloch, who was the victim of vicious online trolling after the case, believes it is imperative that attitudes to sex and alcohol change in universities, describing her client's ordeal as 'every young man's nightmare'.

She said: 'Young men need to learn that if a woman presents as drunk but gives all the signs, as they see it, of consenting, she can still say later that she was not fit to consent.'

She believes parents need to warn children about the risks of mixing sex and alcohol.

'I seem to be getting an awful lot of rape cases,' she added. 'Most of my recent rape cases are of men accused of rape because they have sex with a drunk woman. They have gone out and had sex with a drunk woman even when they are drunk themselves which some people find bizarre.

'Be careful of mixing alcohol with sex because it can come back and haunt you and leave you with a criminal record.

'I am passionate about protecting people and justice and I am passionate about protecting young women and the young men I represent who are just starting their sex lives.

'Parents will tell their children about the birds and bees but I think it would be better if they spoke about the birds, the bees and alcohol.'

Engineering student George Worrall, 22, another Durham University student, endured a 'life-changing' 18-month ordeal before rape charges against him were dropped.

He was charged with two rapes and one sexual assault dating from December 2014 after he took a woman back to his digs. But just weeks before his trial the Crown Prosecution Service dropped the case, due to 'inconsistencies' in his accuser's account of events.

He called for anonymity for men accused of sexual offences and spoke out on behalf of the 'many young men, especially in higher education, who face similar situations'.

Louis Richardson, 21, a third Durham University undergraduate, was cleared of rape and sexual assault in January 2016 following a high-profile trial. The former secretary of the university debating society faced separate charges relating to two women not known to each other.

He was accused of raping a woman at his student house in March 2014 when she was 'crazy drunk' and unresponsive. He was also cleared of assaulting another woman at a house party and said afterwards the case had put him and his family through '15 months of absolute hell'.

Cleared after 18 months: Louis Richardson

De Lotbiniere's name now joins the list of students to be cleared of rape after the very public ordeal of a trial.

During the first trial he came across as confident and articulate as he protested his innocence, insisting: 'It was happening with her consent, she didn't push me away, she didn't strike out at me, she didn't batter me off.'

Dressed smartly in a suit, he said he could 'feel the sexual tension in the air', and they kissed passionately before he told her: 'I'm going to get a condom.'

When he returned to her room she was on the bed and they kissed again and 'started undressing each other'. He said he touched her intimately and they had sex 'but barely'.

Being only his second sexual experience, he said at one stage the woman told him: 'You are not very good at this, let me help you.'

Moments later she added: 'Let's stop, why don't we just go to sleep.' Feeling embarrassed, he said he left the room without another word. One of his friends, fellow student Flossie Vice-Coles, 22, gave evidence to support him, saying he was kind and compassionate – an 'old-fashioned gentleman' who didn't pursue girls.

She added: 'I feel like he had values that a lot of boys at university didn't. He was very respectful and kind.'

His accuser appeared timid and shy as she gave evidence, while insisting it had not been consensual.

She said she was surprised when he kissed her in the corridor outside her bedroom, telling him: 'I don't think you should do that.' She claimed he replied: 'We should have sex to help you get over your ex.'

She added: 'Once he had taken off my top I froze.' She said she tried to fight him off as he carried her to bed.

Gerald Hendron, prosecuting, said: 'She tried to push him off her, but he was physically larger and stronger than she was.

After a time he did stop and started to act as if he was extremely drunk saying 'Pretend this never happened' and 'tell no one'.'

So why the 14-month wait to report what happened? 'I saw a tweet from a fan and I just got angry and upset,' the accuser said. 'It has really got to me. I think if I had been feeling fine about it I wouldn't have been feeling like I did.'

Other friends came to her support. In the first trial one described De Lotbiniere as having behaved in a creepy and lecherous way toward women.

Recalling one incident when they were in a nightclub, he said: 'Barto was getting off with this girl quite soon after we went to the club. I felt it was a more forceful way he was holding this girl so she couldn't particularly move.'

They were in a group of male friends who went on holiday to Belgium and Amsterdam, where De Lotbiniere's behaviour continued to cause the friend concern.

'I had words with Barto regarding the amount he was talking about girls and the way he was talking about them. Any random girls who walked past, fairly lustful comments,' he said.

'It made me feel uncomfortable. I did ask him to tone it down which I have never done before.' Another friend said De Lotbiniere's personality would change when he was drunk and he would grab women.'

Despite the rape trial hanging over him, De Lotbiniere managed to graduate with a 2:1 degree and went on to complete a masters in history at University College London. But unlike the woman, whose identity is protected by law, his name will now be associated with a drunken night out that ended in a notorious court case.

A CPS spokesman said: ‎'The CPS considered the cases in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors.

'It was determined in both cases there was sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction and that it was in the public interest to prosecute‎.

'We respect the decision of the juries.'

Three-year ordeal of man accused by student friend who asked HIM to bed

By James Tozer

Cleared after two trials: Joshua Lines

A man accused of raping a student who claimed she woke up on top of him after a drunken night out has been cleared after a three-year ordeal.

Joshua Lines was invited to stay in her room at her halls of residence having spent the evening together drinking beer and prosecco.

The pair, who were described as having a platonic friendship, fell asleep together on the bed while watching a Disney movie.

But she claimed she was woken up several hours later by the sound of a laptop falling off her bed and find herself on top of Mr Lines with her pyjama bottoms pulled down and him having sex with her.

She said she fled in tears to her en-suite bathroom and locked herself in for several hours.

He later sent the Manchester University student a Facebook message saying ‘What’s happened?’ to which she replied: ‘I don’t want anything to do with you.’

Mr Lines, who claimed he had been too drunk to remember whether the pair had sex, was later charged with rape over the encounter that took place in November 2014. He sat through two trials in which both he and his accuser gave evidence and which culminated in jurors in both cases failing to agree on a verdict.

During his retrial, he told the jury her allegation couldn’t have been true ‘because of the logistics of it’, saying: ‘She woke up on top of me with her legs either side, how would I get her there?’

Finally this week Mr Lines, 23, whose father runs a software design company, was formally cleared of rape on the directions of a judge.

Prosecutors said they would not be seeking a third trial after speaking to the woman, also 23.

Prosecutor Justin Hayhoe said: ‘The Crown do not seek to persuade the court that this is an exceptional case. In these circumstances I offer no evidence.’

Initially Mr Lines held his head in his hands in the dock when he feared he might face another trial.

He looked relieved when he learnt the case was over. He declined to comment after the hearing. The judge, Recorder Rowena Goode, had told him: ‘We have heard what has been said – that means we must draw a line under this matter.’

Earlier the jury in the retrial at Manchester Crown Court was told that Mr Lines and the woman had been friends for three years.

A medical examination carried out on her several days after the alleged incident showed no traces of his DNA.

Giving evidence at his retrial, Mr Lines said she had been flirtatious on the night in question and when they walked back to her room he felt drunk and she was stumbling.

Mr Lines said he felt the room ‘spinning’ and fell asleep, waking up to find her head on his chest. ‘We had slept in the same bed before,’ he added.

A friend of Mr Lines, Melissa Pruntey, told the court the rape allegation was out of character.

‘He has always treated girls with respect and had never taken advantage of anyone,’ she said.

‘We have both slept in the same bed when intoxicated and not once did I worry that he would act inappropriately with me.’

Another friend, Mikolaj Tomcyzk, said: ‘He has never done anything to endanger anyone else and numerous times I have seen him being caring and friendly. I have never seen him doing anything inappropriate no matter how intoxicated.’

According to his social media profile, Mr Lines attended sixth form college in Wigan before doing admin work at his father’s company.

A spokesman for the Crown Prosecution Service said: ‎'The CPS considered the cases in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors.

'It was determined in both cases there was sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction and that it was in the public interest to prosecute‎.

'We respect the decision of the juries.'