Superdry co-founder James Holder is jailed after raping woman as she cried

The co-founder of clothing firm Superdry has been jailed for raping a woman after a night out drinking. Multi-millionaire James Holder , 54, raped the woman in the early hours of May 7, 2022, after a night out at a bar in Cheltenham. Holder and a friend had gone back to her home uninvited, and he attacked her after waking from a nap on her bed. He has now been jailed at Bristol Crown Court for eight years. The businessman earlier denied charges of assault by penetration and rape, saying any sexual activity that took place between him and the woman was consensual. A jury acquitted Holder of assault by penetration, but found him guilty of rape following a trial last week in Cirencester. Giving evidence, the victim said she was crying and asking the married father-of-two to stop, but he carried on. Holder had beckoned the woman, who was trying to sleep in the lounge, into her bedroom and raped her after he woke up from a nap on her bed, the court heard. The ordeal ended when she managed to escape the bedroom, and Holder left her home a short time later. During an earlier hearing, the court was told that Holder was "old school and chivalrous" towards women and "adored sex". He told the jury that the woman had kissed him first and it was "evident what she wanted to happen". He said: "We walked to the bedroom, which was about a minute away [...] and began kissing again." He told the court the complainant performed oral sex on him before they progressed to consensual sexual intercourse, but stopped when she said it was becoming painful. "I did not see or hear her crying at any point," he said. Under cross-examination, Holder denied the reason he had gone to the woman's home was that he "saw an opportunity to have sex with her". James Haskell, prosecuting, asked: "You saw something you wanted and you took it, because the truth is that when you got to the doorway of the living room you said something like: 'What's happening, is everything all right?' as you wanted to entice her to the bedroom and that's why you said: 'Can you show me?' "It ended because she managed to escape off the bed." Holder replied: "That's not correct. She fell straight to sleep. She was fast asleep, so I popped my clothes on and left." Mr Haskell asked: "Is the truth that it suddenly dawned on you of the reality of what you had just done, and you wanted to get out of the flat as soon as possible?" Holder replied: "No, not true." The woman denied suggestions from Holder’s barrister that she had initiated the encounter. “He forced me to try and perform oral sex on him,” she said. Michelle Heeley KC, defending, said: “Sex lasted for approximately 20 minutes.” The woman replied: “I call it rape.” Ms Heeley suggested: “This was a drunken sexual encounter that you regret?” She replied: “Incorrect.” This is a Breaking News story. You’ll be more likely to see our stories when any big news breaks in future by simply by clicking this link . You can also join The Mirror’s WhatsApp Community or follow us on Google News , Flipboard , Apple News , TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads - or visit The Mirror homepage .