A Metropolitan Police officer accused of raping a woman in the sea during his stag do has told a jury that he went into the water with her because of “peer pressure”.
Sergeant Laurence Knight, 34, allegedly attacked a stranger off Brighton beach in the early hours of Saturday 17 July 2021.
A jury at Southwark Crown Court was told that she said him: “You’re getting married in two weeks.”
Prosecutors said that once they were in the water, he moved her underwear before raping her.
The woman asked him: “What are you doing?” And she said: “Stop!” But he did not reply, she said in her police interview.
Earlier in the trial, the prosecution read from her police interview: “I said, you’re getting married in two weeks. Just stop. Don’t do that. And he just didn’t stop.”
In his evidence to the jury today (Friday 23 June), Knight said that she first touched his penis.
He said that he then touched her vagina for a few seconds, thinking it was consensual, before she made the comment about his imminent wedding and they returned to the shore.
Knight denied having any intention to penetrate her vagina.
Jurors were told that he had drunk heavily and his group had been visited by strippers before they met the alleged victim and a male friend.
The prosecution said that Knight knew that the man was either the woman’s boyfriend or on a date with her. Knight and his party wanted to find somewhere to carry on drinking.
Maryam Syed, prosecuting, asked Knight: “If this was another guy’s girl, why did you go into the sea with her?”
He replied: “Quite honestly, I quite enjoyed having the attention. It was a very spur of the moment request from her. It was not discussed before.
“Having had some alcohol and being the stag and being the one that everything was deflected towards, I suppose the phrase is peer pressure.”
The prosecutor asked: “From who? Was (your friend) going: ‘Go on, get in the sea with her! Get in!’”
He replied: “I may have applied it myself.”
