A HOMELESS woman was raped twice and beaten in Cardiff City Centre, Cardiff Crown Court heard.
The jury was told the 40 year old woman punched and kicked during the attack, near Cardiff Central train station in the early hours of 27 December 2023.
Liam Stimpson, 24, from Cardiff, denies two counts of rape, causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent, and grievous bodily harm with intent.
Videos found on Mr Stimpson’s phone, were shown to the jury. In the videos the woman can be heard begging for the alleged attack to stop.
In another video the woman can be seen with a severly swollen and bleeding face with her right eye completly swollen shut.
The videos showed the woman lifting her hands to her attacker saying, “Don’t beat me up baby, don’t beat me please. I’ve got kids.”
Mr Stimpson replied : “I’ll tell you what to do. I’m the boss.”
He then demanded she remove her coat, despite the cold and wet conditions.
The woman replied: “It’s freezing.”
The visibly distressed jury, made up of nine women and three men, were handed tissues and glasses of water by the court usher as they watched the video on large screens.
The prosecuting judge, Nicola Powell said, “What you see is a petrified and broken woman who is simply too frightened and fearful to do anything other than what the defendant demanded of her.
“He battered her, humiliated and degraded her for his own sexual perversions.”
CCTV footage presented in court showed the woman running from the bridge into the junction of St Mary Street around 4:45 AM. She was pursued, punched, and repeatedly kicked while on the ground.
Staff at the nearby Great Western Pub told the court they heard screams and shouts of “somebody help me, police, help”.
The woman was then seen running into the pub where a staff member gave her their own hoodie and coat.
The court was told that Mr Stimpson was in Cardiff City centre on Boxing Day 2023 to celebrate his birthday, when he met the woman, who was homeless.
Mr Stimpson befriended her and told her that the would get her something to eat if she would go with him.
Nicola Powell said: “She came with her own issues and own vulnerabilities. It is risky and dangerous, for a woman living and existing on her own.”
In a prepared statement to police, Stimpson said he had been approached by a woman working as a prostitute and that he had paid for sex. He said it was consensual.
When questioned during cross-examination by defence barrister Ruth Smith, the woman told the court that she was addicted to crack cocaine which had stemmed from the death of a close family member but the woman added: “I don’t sell myself, OK.”
“I am mother, a grandmother and good woman. I am not a prostitute,” the woman told the court.
Ms Smith put to her that she had made false allegations of rape in the past, which she denied.
Stimpson then answered no comment to all further questions from officers.
The trial continues.
