Former Cricketer Alex Hepburn Found Guilty Of Rape Of Sleeping Woman

Hepburn will be sentenced on April 30.
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Former Worcestershire cricketer Alex Hepburn has been found guilty at Worcester Crown Court of one count of rape after attacking a sleeping woman.

A jury of six men and six women deliberated for 10 hours and 53 minutes before returning the unanimous verdict on a count of oral rape.

Hepburn sighed and then slumped into his seat, covered his face with his hands and sobbed after the verdict was returned by the foreman.

He was cleared of a second count of rape and will be sentenced at Hereford Crown Court on April 30.

He had denied the two counts of rape relating to the alleged attack in the early hours of April 1, 2017, at his flat in Portland Street, Worcester.

During his evidence on Wednesday, Hepburn admitted he sent “disgusting, horrible and embarrassing” WhatsApp messages while setting the rules of a sexual conquest competition.

Jurors were told he jokingly referred to rape in one of the messages on the “stat chat” group set up to keep a score of women its members had slept with.

Describing the group as a silly competition, Hepburn said some of the messages referred to threesomes – while another confirmed that women who cricketers had previously slept with did not count.

During cross-examination, Hepburn told prosecutor Miranda Moore QC that up to six cricketers had taken part in the so-called stat game in 2016.

The victim told the court that the “sick” attack left her in a state of shock.

Giving evidence at the re-trial she said she had not kissed him and wrongly believed she was having sex with his then team-mate Joe Clarke.