Deloitte analyst cleared of raping Cambridge University student wants 'totally unfair' defendant anonymity laws reformed

  • Gerald Laryea was accused of raping the 21-year-old in the back of a London taxi
  • But he was cleared by a jury after just two hours at Woolwich Crown Court 
  • Laryea said the ordeal of the trial and arrest had left him feeling traumatized 
  • He says anonymity should be given to defendants unless there's a guilty verdict

By LUKE BARNES FOR MAILONLINE

Published: | Updated:

Mr Laryea was cleared by Woolwich Crown Court after two hours 

Mr Laryea was cleared by Woolwich Crown Court after two hours 

An analyst for the top accounting firm Deloitte has been cleared of raping a Cambridge student in the back of a taxi.

It took the jury at Woolwich Crown Court less than two hours to clear Gerald Laryea, 25, of rape and sexual assault after a week-long trial.

Laryea was accused of having sex with the 21-year-old victim when she was too drunk to consent during a cab ride home.

The woman claimed she was 'drifting in and out of consciousness'.

However urine samples taken from her approximately 12 hours after the journey revealed no trace of alcohol.

Clare Gordon, defending, said to the jury: 'I'm suggesting she wasn't blind drunk. She wasn't drifting in and out of consciousness in the back of that taxi.

'Evidence points away [that] claim. Can you be sure she didn't simply regret what had happened?'

Speaking to the Times after the trial, Laryea claimed that the two years since his arrest had traumatized him and damaged his life, and he was now calling for a reform to anonymity laws.

He said: 'It's totally unfair. Both parties' anonymity should be kept, and if after a trial it is a guilty verdict the the information should go out.'

The current Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act of 1992 grants lifelong anonymity to people making sexual assault allegations, but not to the accused.

At Woolwich Crown Court the jury had heard how the pair were attending a rooftop party at the Roundhouse music venue.  

The jury heard how Laryea and the victim were attending a rooftop party at the Roundhouse (pictured)

The jury heard how Laryea and the victim were attending a rooftop party at the Roundhouse (pictured)

Laryea says the young woman had thrust her hands down his trousers during the event and CCTV showed them walking together to a nearby bar.

The pair saw Laryea's mother during the night out and the court heard claims the alleged victim said: 'She's jealous. We're going to have babies,' when the defendant's mother warned them to calm down.

 She added: 'I was waking up and thinking: 'I don't really want this to happen.' I was embarrassed.'

Laryea claimed the arrest and trial at Woolwich Crown Court had left him traumatized 

Laryea claimed the arrest and trial at Woolwich Crown Court had left him traumatized 

She told the court the defendant then tried to rape her. 'I could feel him trying to do that,' she said.

'He had sex with me that I did not consent to, that I was too drunk to consent to.'

She admitted that she did not say no, saying she was trying to forget about what happening.

She gave a statement to police the next day, adding: I've had a few panic attacks and flashbacks recently when I've been drinking.'   

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