Student ‘raped crying friend in his flat after trying to grope her on the sofa and then texted her a year later to say sorry’
Oxford PhD student Sherman Ip, 25, allegedly tried to grope the young woman on a sofa then forced her down on his bed and pulled off her clothes
AN Oxford University PhD student texted his pal "I'm really sorry for raping you" more than a year after he attacked her in his digs, a court heard.
Sherman Ip, 25, allegedly tried to grope the young woman on a sofa then forced her down on his bed and pulled off her clothes.
The alleged victim fled in tears but decided not to go to police after sending him a message to tell him what he did was wrong.
She finally reported him to cops after receiving a text from the statistician in October 2014, jurors heard.
It said: "I am so sorry for emotionally abusing you and manipulating you to do things you didn't want to do.
"I am really sorry for raping you. I am really sorry for hurting you. It's all my fault."
At the time of the alleged rape Ip was studying for a masters degree in physics from University College London.
He later moved to Oxford University for the first year of his PhD as part of the Oxford Warwick Statistics Programme. He is now at Warwick University.
Southwark Crown Court in London heard the woman was also a student at the time and had known Ip since 2012.
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David Povall, prosecuting, told the jury: "She went to visit him at his home address — a flat, student accommodation, at Euston Square — to talk to him.
"But as they talked it was clear that what he wanted was to have sex.
"They were sitting on the sofa together and as they talked he obviously wasn't listening to her because he kept trying to grope her and remove her clothes.
"She stopped him because she wanted to talk and moved over to sit on the bed to put some distance between them.
"That was unwise because he came over and forced her down onto the bed and started trying to remove her lower clothing."
He pulled off her jeans and underwear then stripped himself and raped her, the court heard.
Mr Povall said: "She started crying and he obviously noticed that because he asked her if she was all right — but continued in any event.
"She felt frozen as it was happening and she explained she didn't resist to stop him.
"She later sent him a message to point out to him that what he did was wrong and not what she wanted.
"She didn't go to the police and carried on with her studies."
The alleged victim told her boyfriend in September 2013 — around four months after the alleged rape — but decided not to make a formal complaint.
Mr Povall said: "What drove her to go to the police was a message she received from him in October 2014."
Ip, of Maidenhead, Berks, denies rape. The trial continues.
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