Earl’s son accused of raping girl, 16, ‘apologised 21 times and was so calm the next day it was ‘like it never happened”

By
Emily Allen

Last updated at 4:57 PM on 10th January 2012


The Honourable James Murray raped a 16-year-old girl as she slept and was so calm the next day 'it was like it had never happened,' a court heard

The Honourable James Murray raped a 16-year-old girl as she slept and was so calm the next day ‘it was like it had never happened,’ a court heard

The son of the Earl of Mansfield raped a 16-year-old girl as she slept and was so calm the next day ‘it was like it had never happened,’ a court heard today.

The teenager told jurors she suddenly fell asleep after drinking a glass of Ribena at The Honourable James Murray’s flat and when she awoke, her trousers were around her knees.

The 42-year-old heir admitted he and the girl – now aged 17 years – had sex on an inflatable bed and that his condom split, before pressuring her to taking a morning after pill, the court heard.

The pair became friends when the teenager began truanting from her secondary school and hanging around a shop near Murray’s flat in Oxford.

Despite his father being one of the wealthiest men in Britain, with an estimated fortune of £60million pounds and growing up in historic Scone Palace, Murray was working as a computer engineer in Oxford.

After hearing friends tease the girl about failing her exams he approached her and told her he had been in a similar position but still had a job.

The jury heard that Murray let the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, and her friends use computer equipment in his flat.

The girl stayed there, on occasions sleeping on the inflatable airbed in his spare room.

The court was told that she went to police after the alleged rape in June 2010 when Murray bombarded her with text messages to her about the encounter.

The eight text messages included one which said ‘sorry’ 21 times, prosecutor Tom Clarke told the jury at Oxford Crown Court.

Another text message read: ‘Please don’t freak out over what happened.

‘The condom broke. It can happen but I didn’t come or anything so taking a Boots pill is just a precaution.

Privilege: Murray grew up at historic Scone Palace, in Perthshire, Scotland

Privilege: Murray grew up at historic Scone Palace, in Perthshire, Scotland

‘I’m really sorry, I know you blame me.

‘If you call the police and cry rape and that I spiked your Ribena, then our friendship will be over because I can’t cope with that stuff.

‘I know that your way of dealing with this is to do it in public.

‘It’s not my way but I still respect you. You should still pick up a pill from Boots.

‘I can take you in the car. If you want to speak to me then please do. James.’

Nicholas Syfret QC, defending Murray, put to the victim that she had been offended when the following morning Murray had acted calmly about what had happened between the pair, including the fact that the condom had split.

‘It was like it never happened, he was so calm about it,’ she told the jury.

Mr Syfret said that Murray had acted ‘practically’ about the problem of the split condom that ‘needed to be solved’ and this had upset her as it demonstrated his lack of romantic feeling towards her.

Family: Viscount Stormont, the 8th Earl of Mansfield and his wife

Family: Viscount Stormont, the 8th Earl of Mansfield and his wife

‘Was it clear to you ‘he does not regard me as being good enough to be his girlfriend’?’, he asked the young victim, who was giving her evidence via a video link.

She told him: ‘I never wanted to be his girlfriend, I was never planning to be his girlfriend.’

The round-faced teenager told Mr Syfret that she had not woken up with a hangover that morning and had not intentionally taken drugs.

‘Not that I’m aware of,’ she added.

She admitted to being something of a ‘night owl’, who would regularly stay awake until 3am or 4am, but could not explain why she did not remember the sexual encounter, which Murray said lasted for ‘about an hour.’

The brunette said she did not know they had sex until the following morning when he told her about it and could not explain what had happened, or how.

She insisted that she and Murray were not established sexual partners, despite the fact that three condoms with her DNA on were found in a waste bin at the apartment.

Mr Syfret claimed the rape allegations had been concocted in the hours after their sexual encounter but had spiralled out of control when the teenager’s sister told the police.

He told her: ‘Then of course it all develops a momentum of its own doesn’t it? And you’ve not been able to stop it since.’

She replied: ‘Why would I want to stop it?’ Mr Syfret replied: ‘Because it’s not true.’

The teenager said assertively: ‘Yes it is.’ Murray, who appeared in court in a blue suit and tie with a white shirt with light blue stipes, denies one count of rape at his then home in Oxford.

He is now lives at Logiealmond, Perth.

The trial continues.

Sorry we are unable to accept comments for legal reasons.

Views: 0

You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Leave a Reply

Powered by WordPress | Designed by: Premium WordPress Themes | Thanks to Themes Gallery, Bromoney and Wordpress Themes