Swansea councillor pleads not guilty to rape dating back to the 1990s.
Mr May, from Finsbury Terrace, Brynmill, Swansea, currently represents the Uplands ward on Swansea council.A trial date was set for September 2026.
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The Independent
28 minutes ago
- The Independent
Volunteer officer met alleged rape victim while posing as girl, 16, court told
A volunteer Metropolitan Police officer accused of raping a woman was posing online as a 16-year-old girl when the pair began talking, a court has heard. Amersham Law Courts heard that James Bubb, who now identifies as a woman named Gwyn Samuels, allegedly raped the woman he was in an on-off relationship with between January 2018 and February 2023. On Monday, the trial heard the pair met on the online chat site Omegle while Bubb was posing as a teenage girl and that they had spoken about a sexual practice known as BDSM (bondage, discipline/domination, sadism/submission, and masochism). Jurors previously heard the woman had told police Bubb went on to use 'BDSM and kink as a way of creating control' throughout their relationship. The complainant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the court on Monday: 'When I met James on Omegle, I didn't know that it was James at first, they introduced themselves as a teenage girl so I was more concerned than anything else, and then kind of just talking to them about maybe this isn't what they should want to look at at their age.' She said: 'As I said, James first presented themselves as a 16-year-old girl.' Jurors previously heard the pair started talking when the complainant had 'just turned 18' and that she had been 'terrified' after Bubb had suggested 'knife-play' during their relationship. In her police interview, she said: 'When a guy is trailing a knife down you telling you the things he could do with it and you are terrified and you don't trust he would stop – the safe word means nothing.' During cross-examination, Adrian Amer, defending Bubb, asked: 'All the BDSM you had with James was completely consensual wasn't it?' 'No,' the alleged victim replied. Mr Amer continued: 'Did you introduce knife-play?' 'I did not introduce knife-play,' the woman said. Mr Amer asked: 'In your knife-play, sometimes you were blindfolded weren't you?' 'Yes,' the witness said. 'And James would use a blunt butter knife to run along your body, a blunt butter knife that's correct, isn't it?' Mr Amer asked. 'I have no way of knowing if it was a blunt butter knife, I was blindfolded,' the alleged victim said. Asked to describe the knife that Bubb would use during times where the alleged victim was not blindfolded, she said it was a 'large-ish knife' like the type 'used to cut vegetables'. Regarding the size of the knife, the woman indicated it was shorter than the length of an A4 piece of paper. The 27-year-old has denied one count of rape in relation to the complainant, and two counts of rape, two counts of sexual activity with a child, one count of assault of a child under 13 by penetration, one count of rape of a child under 13 and one count of assault by penetration in relation to another complainant. A not guilty verdict on one of the rape charges in relation to the second complainant was returned on Wednesday after the prosecution offered no evidence. All charges are alleged to have taken place between January 1 2018 and April 2 2024. The defendant, of High Street, Chesham, Buckinghamshire, denies all charges. The trial continues.
Sky News
an hour ago
- Sky News
Fife sex predator who raped teenage girls jailed for 10 years
A sex predator who subjected two teenage girls to an "appalling catalogue" of rape and abuse has been jailed for 10 years. Michael McRobie, 34, struck one of his victims with a whip during an attack. At the High Court in Edinburgh on Monday, Judge Michael O'Grady KC said: "It is a statement of the obvious to say that you have been convicted of the most appalling catalogue of offences. "They amply demonstrate that you have a sinister, compulsive and deeply dangerous interest in children and adolescent girls." McRobie, of Kirkcaldy in Fife, had denied a series of charges at an earlier trial but was convicted of 12 offences - including six of rape. All of the crimes were committed in Fife. The judge stated: "It is clear that when you behaved as you did, you were neither stupid nor unthinking nor caught up in the moment. "It is clear that you are and were intelligent and articulate. It is clear that you knew precisely what you were doing. "Indeed, what you were doing was the product of cunning and manipulation and forethought. "One of these girls was a child and the other little more. Both in their own way were vulnerable, something you knew only too well and exploited to the full. "You are nothing more or less than a predator." McRobie began assaulting and abusing his first victim in March 2016 when she was aged 16. During attacks on her over several months, he subjected her to rape, restrained her and throttled her. He subjected a second girl to more prolonged abuse, which also started in March 2016 when she was aged 13. She was raped repeatedly and during abuse was hit on the body with his hands and a whip. The court heard that McRobie had possessed indecent images of children and also extreme pornography of bestiality. Judge O'Grady added: "The damage you have done to these young women is incalculable and I have no doubt its shadow will hang over them for the foreseeable future, perhaps forever." As well as the 10-year prison sentence, McRobie was additionally ordered to be supervised for four years after being released back into the community. He has also been banned from contacting his victims.
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Shocking moment family of ‘dine and dashers' leave popular seaside pub after gobbling £185 of food and drink
THIS is the shocking moment a family of dine-and-dashers fled a popular pub to ditch a £185 bill. The shameless party of eight guzzled drinks and scoffed their meals at The Ship Inn, in Solva, Pembrokeshire. 4 4 The greedy group then walked out of the traditional south Wales seaside pub without paying. The Ship Inn shared photographs of the family, who allegedly had "Irish accents", as a warning. "So last night…..This delightful person and his family had £185.00 worth of food and drink for free," they claimed. "Business's please be on the look out for a party of eight with Irish accents - don't make the same mistake I did, make them pay up front!" Loyal customers hailed the four-star venue and slammed the alleged dine-and-dashers. One said: "Always take money with order, no one minds paying beforehand if they're genuine." Another said: "They knew what they were going to do. Serious hit. So sorry this has happened to you. "We do expect to leave our details up front because of people like this. I hope you are successful with recovery." It comes just days after a riverside cafe in north Wales was also hit by thieves. Honey's Bakery & Café in Caergwrle, North Wales, claimed they were targeted by a group of three women and two men, who had a young child with them. Moment four shameless dine & dashers flee Indian restaurant without paying £200 bill They fled from their table after gorging on fry-ups, cakes and fizzy drinks. Annie Bailey, who was serving the family, told Mailonline: "We were just shocked that people would actually act like that. All the customers in the cafe were watching on horrified. "It's such a difference for a small business. It was just horrible to see it happening in real time. You have five or six individuals who just took complete liberties and took advantage of a small business." In an Instagram post, the bakery added: "This afternoon at Honeys we experienced a dine-and-dash incident. "A group of family with Irish accents came in, ordered a large amount of food, and left without paying. Has your business been hit by shameless dine-and-dashers? Email "If you are approached by a group matching this description, please take payment before serving, and report any suspicious behaviour to the authorities." A spokesman for North Wales Police said: "Shortly after 3pm on Tuesday, 12 August, we received a report that a group eating at a restaurant in Caergwrle, Flintshire, left without making a payment of approximately £100. "The incident is reported to have taken place at around 2pm. Dyfed Powys Police have been asked to comment on the Solva theft." Elsewhere, a group of greedy guzzlers ordered £390 worth of steaks and carbonara refused to pay. CCTV footage showed the disgraceful party of men, women and kids gorge on their feast at La Banca Italian restaurant in Selsey, West Sussex, before fleeing. Plus, two men stuffed their faces with over £110 worth of food before fleeing a Vietnamese restaurant in a "perfect plan". They guzzled beer and gorged Nottingham. And, watch the shocking moment a gang of pensioners appeared to distract staff to allegedly skip out on a £100 bill was caught on camera. DINE-AND-DASH LAW EXPLAINED If a customer or group 'dine-and-dash', they could be charged under section 3 of the 1978 Theft Act. This deals with people who eat out and leave without paying. It is considered theft if there is a failure to pay when it is known that payment is required for goods or services. The offence can carry a prison sentence of up to two years 4
