Jury retires to consider verdict in Gosport child rape trial as evidence concludes
Alex Kaunda, 26 from St Nicholas Avenue in Gosport, is charged with one count of assaulting a child under 13 via penetration and six counts of raping a child under 13.
The jury in a child rape trial has retired to consider its verdict.
This week, Alex Kaunda, from St Nicholas Avenue in Gosport, has been on trial for one count of assaulting a child under 13 via penetration and six counts of raping a child under 13. All alleged offences took place between the mid-late 2010s.
The 26-year-old denies all the allegations, saying the suggested events never took place. His accuser has a life-long right to anonymity.
Over the course of the trial, Kaunda’s accuser told the court that she was told not to tell her parents because they “would not believe her”, and the prosecution cited a later conversation with the defendant where he apologised to her.
Kaunda’s defence is that the alleged offences never happened, and that the instance of him apologising was not about the allegations.
Evidence in the trial at Portsmouth Crown Court has concluded, with Judge James Newton-Price KC summarising the case before retiring the jury.
He said: “Where there is conflicting evidence, you must decide how accurate and honest each witness is, regardless of whether they were called by the prosecution or defence. You must not guess or speculate about anything that wasn’t covered by the evidence.
“I remind you that Alex Kaunda denies the allegations and says none of this happened. It’s up to you you decide whether or not it is true.
“It’s important that you try to reach verdicts that are unanimous. When you retire, I ask you to reach verdicts upon which each and every one of you is agreed.”
The jury will now only return to the courtroom once they have reached a verdict on all seven counts.