Woman 'didn't flee Tinder rapist in fear her son might not have a mother right now', court hears

A woman has told a court that she did not flee from her home following an alleged rape attack in fear her "son might not have a mother right now".

The alleged victim was giving evidence at the High Court in Glasgow in the trial against James Clacher. Clacher, 57, has been accused of the violent rape of two women - one in Troon, South Ayrshire, in 2019 and another in Glasgow in September 2020.

He has denied any wrongdoing and has lodged a special defence, claiming any sex was consensual. Giving evidence yesterday, the alleged 2019 victim told jurors of how she was allegedly raped in her own home within 15 minutes of meeting Clacher for the first time.

The woman said moments after telling her Tinder date to "make himself comfortable" while she finished getting ready for their night out, she was reportedly pushed against a wall and brutally assaulted. She then claimed she was further abused after being led upstairs while in a state of "shock".

During cross-examination on Thursday, defence advocate Gail Gianni asked the woman why she did not flee for safety after she testified she had gone to the bathroom and Clacher was still in her bedroom. The woman responded: "If I tried to run, my son might not have a mother right now." Ms Gianni highlighted a number of discrepancies in the woman's police statement and court testimony.

In response to allegations she made in court, which are too graphic to print, but were not recorded in her police report, she claimed she was too "embarrassed" to tell the force at the time, as the details were "humiliating and degrading". She said: "I didn't want to talk about it at that point." Ms Gianni also noted how the woman told police she "wasn't forced up the stairs.