Superdry's Multi-Millionaire Founder James Holder Found Guilty Of Raping Woman While Drunk

London: James Holder, the multi-millionaire Co-founder of British clothing company Superdry, has been found guilty of raping a woman in 2022 in an intoxicated state.

The Gloucester Crown Court in England convicted him for one count of rape but acquitted him of a separate charge of assault by penetration.

The Night Of The Crime

The incident took place on the night when James Holder went for drinks at Gin and Juice with his colleagues and friends, including the victim, in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.

After drinking at the bar, a taxi was arranged for the fashion boss. However, Holder refused to go home in the taxi, saying, “I am not going home.”

Leaving his taxi, Holder sat in the taxi that had been hailed for the concerned woman.

Woman Cried, Said 'No'

Prosecutor James Haskell told the court that the fashion boss woke up in the woman's home, following which she tried to sleep in her lounge. However, Holder allegedly coaxed her into the bedroom despite her objection.

"She said no, she was tired, and she said he pulled her on the bed…She said that he continued to touch her. She described him pulling off her lower clothing. She said she tried to stop him. From time to time he would say sorry but then carried on. She was telling him to stop. At one point she remembered starting to cry but even then he didn't stop," the prosecutor added.

Notably, the woman was also drunk during the incident. Prosecutors maintained that because of her intoxicated state she was vulnerable and James Holder exploited her vulnerability.

James Holder Denies Raping The Woman

Meanwhile, Holder maintained that he believed that the sexual activity was consensual.

The woman maintained that she was forced and refused to agree to the defendant's query over whether the incident was simply a “drunken sexual encounter” that she regrets.

James Holder is scheduled to be sentenced in May. Notably, the maximum punishment for rape in the United Kingdom is life imprisonment.

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