Rape jury is told of five similar complaints

Five women made separate but almost identical claims against a man accused of raping a sixth woman, aged 23, a jury was told yesterday. This was no longer a case of the word of 39-year-old Nicholas Edwards against hers, but against all six, David Perry, for the prosecution, told the Old Bailey.

Five women made separate but almost identical claims against a man accused of raping a sixth woman, aged 23, a jury was told yesterday. This was no longer a case of the word of 39-year-old Nicholas Edwards against hers, but against all six, David Perry, for the prosecution, told the Old Bailey.

In an unusual legal move, the prosecution was allowed to produce evidence of the earlier complaints, because the stories were almost identical.

"[The evidence] suggests it cannot be mere coincidence that each of these young women, unknown to each other, should make complaints which bear such striking similarities," Mr Perry said. Mr Edwards, an engineer, had "targeted" them, approaching the women in the street, flattering them and inviting them on a date. If his request for a kiss was rebuffed, his demeanour changed. He threatened violence, then forced himself on them.

The similarities in the women's stories matched the manner in which they claimed Mr Edwards had ordered them about during the rape then became friendly afterwards. Each time the defendant had been arrested but claimed the women had consented to sex.

Mr Perry emphasised that Mr Edwards was being tried for the rape of only one woman, referred to as Miss D. But he added: "It is no longer Miss D against the defendant. It is no longer just one person's word against the defendant."

He said Mr Edwards approached Miss D in 1998 and asked her to phone him. When she did not call he came to her home and she agreed to go for a drink. Two days later, he arrived again and invited her for a walk. He insisted on going via his flat in Sydenham, south London, and there he badgered her into a kiss, said Mr Perry.

The following day, Sunday, Miss D went to a party with him and he insisted on returning to his flat for money. He said she could not stay in the car outside because it was "too dangerous", counsel said.

But once inside, the mood changed. Mr Edwards became angry and forced her down on to the bed, put a hand at her throat, swearing at her to undress. "The girl was crying and, not surprisingly, in fear she did remove her knickers," he said. Despite Miss D's tears and pleas for him to stop he performed various sexual acts on her, then raped her.

Mr Edwards later raped Miss D again, the court was told. "She was crying, shocked and clearly upset," Mr Perry added. "The defendant told her to stop crying then apologised and agreed to take her home."

Miss D scrubbed herself in a bath filled with Dettol and bleach, then told police. Mr Edwards was arrested, denied rape and insisted she had consented, exactly as he had said on five earlier occasions, the court was told.

"Since 1984, a number of allegations of rape have been made against Nicholas Edwards," Mr Perry said, adding: "The defendant said they're all lying. He says he has had sexual intercourse with them yet each consented. You may think, if the defendant is telling the truth, he is a very unlucky man."

The trial continues.