Former Britain’s Got Talent contestant accused of raping two women

A former contestant on Britain’s Got Talent is accused of raping two women, a court heard.

Andrew Johnston, 30, competed as a singer on the television programme in 2008, and is now on trial at Southwark Crown Court charged with raping and sexually assaulting one woman and raping another woman.

Maryam Syed KC, prosecuting, told the jury on Thursday: “In 2008 Mr Johnston competed as a singer on the television programme Britain’s Got Talent and he did quite well in that programme.”

The alleged offences happened a number of years later, the prosecution said.

Ms Syed said Johnston had been “engaging in consensual sexual activity” with one complainant, but he removed his condom, and the complainant “repeatedly told Mr Johnston to stop” but he did not.

A video interview of one of the complainants was played to the jury, and she said: “He removed the condom without my knowledge or consent and continued to have sex with me. I then said to him ‘stop’ and I said it between five or six times and he did not stop.”

The woman said Johnston held one hand on her throat and her arms were pinned with his other hand.

She said she “slammed on his chest with both hands” and he then stopped.

The woman said she then told him “when I say stop you have to stop” and added that he said “sorry I didn’t hear you”.

At a later date the woman said she saw the defendant at a club and he “groped my bum”, then outside “grabbed me by the shoulders and forcibly kissed me”.

Under cross-examination on Thursday afternoon, Rupert Kent, defending, put to the woman that Johnston did not remove the condom while having sex with her, to which she said he did.

Mr Kent suggested to the woman that at no time did the defendant hold her down by the wrists or neck. She replied “the defendant did that”.

He also put to the woman that at no time did she tell the defendant to stop, and she replied “I told him to stop multiple times”.

Mr Kent suggested to the woman that she “exaggerated or embellished what might be considered hard or energetic consensual sex and moved it into the realms of non-consensual sex”, and the woman replied “no”.

He put to her that the allegation was a “deliberate lie” and she said “it’s not a lie”.

The other complainant told police she had engaged in consensual sexual activity with the defendant and asked him to use a condom, the prosecution said.

The woman said she started to feel the defendant’s hands around her neck and “no matter how many times she removed them, she said the defendant kept on putting his hands back around her throat”, Ms Syed said.

He then stopped and removed the condom, then carried on with the intercourse, and she “indicated that he once again put his hands around her throat”.

Ms Syed said: “The issue in this trial will be that in respect of the allegations whether there was non-consensual sexual activity and whether there was sexual activity at all in respect of the sexual assault.

“The prosecution say that these two young women have given truthful accounts of what occurred with this defendant Andrew Johnston when they were alone with him, which have striking hallmarks of similarity.”

She said the similarity was “not because there have been heads put together” but “because of the nature of the way in which this defendant sexually abused both of them”.

The defendant was arrested and interviewed by police and gave a prepared statement then answered no comment to further questions, Ms Syed said.

Johnston, of Newtown Road, Carlisle, Cumbria, denies two counts of rape and one count of sexual assault.

The trial continues.