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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
National
Lynda Roughley & Abigail Nicholson

Student accused of multiple sex attacks calls himself 'hopeless romantic'

A student accused of serious sex attacks on four young women claimed they had consensual sex.

Charles Goodwin, 21, is on trial at Liverpool Crown Court facing 12 offences involving four students, three of whom were based in Liverpool and one in Manchester.

Goodwin, of Hilbre Street in Liverpool city centre, but formerly of Salford, denies all the offences, which include six rapes, sexual assaults, assault by penetration and attempting choking, between January 2020 and May last year.

READ MORE: Alleged serial rapist 'manhandled and assaulted' student victim, court hears

The jury has heard the defendant, who was on double bail at the time of the last alleged attack, admits having sexual activity with the four women but claims it was consensual.

Matthew Curtis, prosecuting, said: “The defendant did not care whether the complainants consented or not. In short, he got what he wanted with no care for them or the immediate consequences of his actions.”

All four victims have already given evidence and today Goodwin disputed the alleged victims' claims and denied committing any offences.

The 21-year-old admitted telling one alleged victim that he was “a sex god” but claims they had sex four times in 12 hours and said he made the remark 'in a jokey way'.

The jury heard he allegedly raped his first victim, who was at University in Manchester, three times - after saying she needed “to be treated like a princess”.

She told the court Goodwin began sexually assaulting her in a taxi on the way to her home and when they got there he immediately stripped naked.

The alleged victim claims they had consensual sex but he then became aggressive, calling her names and began choking her and repeatedly raping her.

When cross-examined about this Goodwin described her as “stunning” and he was sexually attracted to her.

He said he had picked her up in a “prince and princess style” and described himself as a combination of “a hopeless romantic and Charlie big b******s… it is the way my personality worked.”

He denied begging her to let him go to her home and touching her sexually in the taxi there. He said she went straight to her bedroom which he took “as a direct hint".

He denied choking her and claimed he just had one hand at the side of her throat and his other hand round the back of her head caressing it.

Goodwin also denied intending to have rough sex with her but said the sexual intercourse was "slightly rough."

He told the court: "At no point did she object or say no or move my hand."

He claimed she had been smiling which he took as her enjoying their sexual activity. He admitted calling her names and when asked why by Matthew Curtis, prosecuting, he said “it was an attempt at foreplay, it was reciprocated…..it turned me on.”

Goodwin claimed none of the other alleged victims had given any signal or sign that they were not consenting to sexual activity with him.

He claimed he had consensual sex with the second alleged victim three times, prior to the three times he allegedly raped her.

Goodwin said she asked him to walk her back to her rooms after an evening playing drinking games with her and other students. The Crown claims he knew she was too drunk to consent to sex.

He then claimed "she became very very forward" and told the court: "She turned round, got hold of my wrists, leaned forward trying to be sexy and said, ‘you are not allowed to leave until you f*** me’."

He said he did not want to because he was thinking about his girlfriend but when he tried to leave, Goodwin claims she jumped in front of him and said, ‘no that is not how this works.’

Goodwin told the court the woman then performed a sex act on him. He claims they ended up in bed and he said he thought: “If she really wants sex I don’t see why I should object and we had sexual intercourse.”

Afterwards they returned to the party but later she asked him to walk her home and had been staring at him licking her fingers and sucking her thumb in a sexual way, he claimed.

Goodwin claims they had consensual sex twice and then he accidentally engaged in a sex act and immediately stopped.

He said she was crying, adding: "I thought ‘oh crap, she’s upset and the last girl I upset got me thrown into the back of a police van’ so I started having a panic attack."

The court has heard that after an incident in Manchester eight months earlier he had been arrested and released on bail.

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