Man shut shop door before alleged rape, court hears

A man accused of raping a woman in a barbershop closed the door to the premises and took her out of sight to carry out the alleged attack, a court has heard.

Jowad Haji, 24, is accused of raping the woman in Barberia in Stratford-upon-Avon in January after offering her a job there, Warwick Crown Court was told.

Haji, of Coventry, denies rape, attempted rape, sexual assault, a separate sexual assault offence, and intentional strangulation.

Prosecutors allege Haji winked at the woman and made remarks about her body before he attacked her in the back room of the shop.

Taking to the witness box for a second day, assisted by a Kurdish interpreter, the Iraqi national said he did not lie about having a "close relationship" with the woman.

Haji told the court he had met her several times and had previously hugged and kissed her.

He said on the day of the alleged attack she followed him to the back of the barbershop and hugged him from behind, telling him she had missed him.

Haji said they kissed until the woman's friend returned to the shop and they left.

During cross-examination, prosecution counsel Simon Hunka said Haji had closed the door of the barbershop before he attacked the alleged victim.

"You shut it yourself, didn't you, because you wanted to take her out of sight behind the wall at the back," Hunka said.

"You wanted no-one to hear her, should she raise her voice."

The defendant replied: "This is not correct - whatever she says, speaks, her voice would be heard."

Haji also denied that the woman went to the back of the shop with him to sign paperwork after offering her a job.

"You physically overpowered her then, didn't you? You held her tightly around her throat, didn't you?" said Hunka.

Haji replied: "Opposite me, a busy place. How could I assault a girl in such a place?"

He said it was "not correct" that he grabbed the woman's hair and forced her into sexual activity with him until he was interrupted by her friend returning to the shop.

Hunka alleged that Haji "made up" that he had a close relationship with the woman.

"If we were not close friends, how did she keep visiting me? If I knew something would happen to me later, I would record every second," Haji said.

Asked whether it was his account that he had always been "perfectly nice and friendly" to the woman, Haji said: "Yes, correct, I was nice to her, I would never in my life do something wrong."

The trial continues.

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