Kosovan soldier in court as rape trial starts

A Kosovan soldier helping train personnel from the Ukrainian army has gone on trial accused of sexually assaulting a woman he had met on a night out.

Grace Ong, prosecuting, said 29-year-old Bali Hoxha and the woman "weren't previously known to each other, they were strangers" when they met outside a fast-food outlet in Norwich.

Hoxha is accused of attacking the woman on a footpath between Prince of Wales Road and the Riverside Retail Park at about 23:30 BST on Wednesday, 17 September.

Hoxha, of West Tofts Camp in Thetford, Norfolk, has pleaded not guilty to one count of rape and two counts of sexual assault.

Ong told jurors at Norwich Crown Court the defendant "took advantage" of the woman, who described her level of intoxication as seven out of 10, and "took her to a secluded place in Norwich, removed her clothing and raped her".

"The defence will be, I anticipate, that [the woman] consented to all of this activity and was fully willing to take part in the sexual encounter between her and the defendant," she added.

"The prosecution case is quite the contrary – that she didn't want any sexual activity."

The prosecution said the woman, who was described as in her 20s, had been at dinner with friends earlier in the evening and "to a couple of bars before coming across the defendant".

Ong said the woman, who "wasn't drunk but was slightly the worse for wear for drink", saw the defendant outside of a shop and both exchanged a "hi".

The defendant offered the woman some chicken and she had eaten some of it, the court heard.

"[The woman] didn't think it would go any further and decided to carry on walking again as it was getting late and she was tired," Ong added.

She said the defendant "kept following" the woman and paying her compliments, "pushed [her] down to the grass" near the river, close to Norwich railway station, and got on top of her and allegedly raped her.

In a police video played in court, the alleged victim said "he was a pretty big guy, so I couldn't really get him off".

She added that at one point, he spat at her.

The court heard Hoxha had then asked to go back to the woman's house.

The prosecution said the woman later saw two people and "yelled help and ran towards them and managed to get the defendant's arm off her".

She went to sleep and then, after speaking with her sister, she reported the incident to police, Ong added.

She said CCTV footage was studied, but cameras did not cover the incident where the alleged rape happened. The defendant was arrested at the barracks, she added.

The trial is expected to last about five days.

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