Joseph Eubank has denied raping a drunk 16-year-old girl in a dark, secluded place on Brighton beach, telling a jury that she was “completely happy” when they had sex.
Eubank, 27, is being tried for two counts of rape after he took the girl down the beach in July 2022, telling jurors that she seemed sober during their brief encounter.
He spent more than hour in the witness box at Lewes Crown Court today (Wednesday 25 September) answering questions about his version of events.
Eubank, the son of former boxer Chris Eubank Sr and brother of boxer Chris Eubank Jr, said that what happened was “all very fluent and very consensual” and with the girl’s “enthusiastic participation”.
While out on the seafront near the Palace Pier, he said that he approached the girl, whose identity is protected by law, because he was attracted to her and he started a conversation.
Beverly Cripps, prosecuting, had previously told the court that the teenager had been drinking vodka with friends as they celebrated a birthday. She had never been drunk like that before and “couldn’t see straight”.
But Eubank, who said he had not had any alcohol that night, said that “she looked completely sober” as they chatted near the beach and he did not think that she was drunk.
He told the jury: “There were smirks and smiles. There were intense looks her and I were sharing while having these conversations that suggested we were both quite attracted to one another.”
Jurors previously heard from the teenage girl that she was “rushed” down the beach and fell on the pebbles, unable to stand up, but Eubank kept pulling her back to her feet.
He denied this, saying that as they set off for a walk he interlocked arms with the girl and “slowly and calmly” walked to towards the shore.
Asked if the pair had discussed what they would do down the beach, Eubank said no, adding: “Her body language on the night was very clear to me.”
Eubank said that they began kissing in a secluded part of the beach before she asked his age. It was at this point, he said, when he learned she was 16.
He told jurors that he pulled back and gasped but said she said: “No, no, no, it’s fine. It’s ok.”
He added: “She was showing no signs of restraint. She was completely happy in the environment. We both were.”
He told the court how, after “no more than 25 minutes” together, he went back up to the beach to meet his cousin who had been calling him.
On reflection, this had been the “wrong thing to do” and he added: “If I hadn’t done that, I don’t think I would be in the situation that I am now.”
Eubank later texted the teenager to see if she wanted to meet up again in a message which read: “Hey pup, are you ready for round two?”
The jury heard previously that the girl had deleted the message and did not tell police until some time afterwards – and by then it was not possible to retrieve the message from her phone.
Police seized Eubank’s phone but he would not give them access – and still hadn’t. He said that this followed the death of his brother Sebastian Eubank almost exactly a year before.
Eubank said: “My father was going through a difficult time and said some sensitive things and I didn’t want anyone seeing them.”
Miss Cripps asked: “Why didn’t you want police to have that message on your phone?”
Eubank said “That’s not easy to explain. I thought the police would be able to figure all this out very quickly. I didn’t think it would ever get this far.
“I thought the CCTV footage would show what happened (and) I would be proven very innocent.”
Miss Cripps asked: “Was there anything on your phone, Mr Eubank, that you didn’t want the police to see?”
He said: “Other than family matters, no.”
The prosecutor said that, in that case, it would have been sensible to give the police access to his phone.
He said: “If I was sensible, I wouldn’t be in the situation that I am in.”
Miss Cripps said: “The reality is that you saw a drunk young girl and took her down the beach to a quiet, secluded and dark place and raped her.”
Eubank said: “No, that’s not what I did.”
The prosecutor said: “You saw what she was like. You saw how she was drunk and you dragged her down the beach to have sex with her. You neither knew or didn’t care that she wasn’t consenting.”
Eubank said: “That’s not true. No.”
He was asked if he often met women randomly and had sex with them on the beach and he said: “That was the first time.”
Eubank, of Hill Drive, Hove, denies two counts of rape.
The trial continues.
