Coldstream Guard on trial for raping a woman in the shadow of Windsor Castle

A Coldstream guard took cocaine and raped a young mother in a park opposite Windsor Castle – just 50 yards from the route taken by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding procession – before returning to his barracks, a court has heard.

Connor Brayley is alleged to have targeted his 23-year-old victim as she walked home alone just after 2am on December 14 last year.

Brayley, 24, who is stationed in Windsor’s Victoria Barracks, is said to have drunk between 8 and 9 pints and taken the Class A drug before befriending the woman outside a bar in the Royal Berkshire town.

Seeing as she was worse the wear for drink, he behaved as ‘quite the gallant gentleman’, lending her his coat and taking her arm to escort her up the road, Reading Crown Court was told.

However as the pair walked towards Bachelors Acre park through a dark alleyway, his mood is said to have changed and he became aggressive.

Security footage taken from Windsor town centre appears to show him pinning her to the floor and forcing his crotch into her face, the court heard.

He then allegedly dragged her into an alley to a bench overlooking Bachelors Acre, a secluded park near the castle, where he is accused of raping her and threatening to kill her if she resisted.

The soldier is alleged to have targeted his 23-year-old victim as she walked home alone just after 2am on December 14 last year

Brayley, who is stationed in Windsor’s Victoria Barracks, is said to have befriended the woman outside a bar in the Royal Berkshire town

Brayley left the scene at about 3.20am and walked back to his barracks while his victim fled to a doorman friend she knew who had emerged to have a cigarette.

Opening the prosecution’s case on Thursday, Alan Blake said: ‘Last Saturday the eyes of millions around the world saw the best of Windsor.

‘Over the next few days you will see and hear of events which took place on some of those same streets six months ago you may find distinctly less attractive and somewhat shocking.

‘On the eve of Wednesday 13th through to the early hours of Thursday 14th December 2017, a 23-year-old woman, a young mother from the local area went out in Windsor town centre.

‘Like many other men and women at that time of year she went out for Christmas drinks.

‘She will not have been the only one who partied a bit too hard that night, rendering her drunk and vulnerable.

‘At about 2am as she walked in the direction of home, along the main street that follows the walls of the castle she was approached by this defendant. He too had been enjoying a night out, drinking for several hours.

‘It seems they had at some stage of the evening been at the same bar although whether she had caught his eye at that stage or not is unclear.

However as the pair walked towards Bachelors Acre park through a dark alleyway, his mood is said to have changed and he is alleged to have dragged the woman into an alley to a bench where he is accused of raping her and threatening to kill her if she resisted

Security footage taken from Windsor town centre appears to show Brayley pinning the woman to the floor and forcing his crotch into her face, the jury was told

‘She was plainly under the influence of alcohol. As you will see from some town centre CCTV she was having difficulty with her balance and struggling to walk in a straight line.

‘The defendant and a friend started talking to her, the friend hugged her and then left, leaving the defendant and victim alone in the doorway at the front of a shop.

‘At that stage he behaved as quite the gallant gentleman, chatting to her briefly before lending her his coat and taking her arm to escort her up the road and then into the deserted shopping streets.

‘He walked her down through the boutiques of old Royal Shopping Centre until they reach a bollard near a shop called Bobbi Brown, where they were about to leave the well lit shopping area onto Goswell Hill from where two alleyways that lead to the darker more isolated location known as Bachelors Acre.

‘It was no accident, say the Crown, that he had escorted her to this location. CCTV shows that for the 20 minutes before meeting the victim at 2am, the defendant had walked a circular loop by himself, along the alleyways to this very spot at Bachelors Acre where the alleged offending against her was to take place.’

The victim realised she was in danger of being sexually assaulted and attempted to resist, Mr Blake said.

Alan Blake, prosecuting, told the jury: ‘Last Saturday the eyes of millions saw the best of Windsor (above). You will see and hear of events which took place on some of those same streets six months ago you may find distinctly less attractive and somewhat shocking’

The prosecution said the woman had had a lot to drink and was unsteady on her feet when the defendant came across her, the court heard

CCTV shows that for the 20 minutes before meeting the victim at 2am, the defendant had walked a circular loop by himself, along the alleyways to the spot at Bachelors Acre where the alleged offending against her was to take place, the court heard

CCTV footage, while distant and fuzzy, captured some of the initial struggle, he added.

Mr Blake continued: ‘The footage is sufficient however to show that he spent over two minutes pinning her to the ground with his body weight.

‘He sits over her head so that his crotch is in her face. His face and top half of his torso are leaning towards her bottom half where you can see her legs flop occasionally from side to side.

‘After two minutes he physically drags her to her feet. The defendant brings his face very close to her and it may be that he kisses her.’

Brayley then pulled her into the alleyway that leads to Bachelors Acre prompting his alleged victim to try and resist but the amount of alcohol she had consumed meant she was powerless to get free, Mr Blake told the court.

He said the defendant dragged her to a small seating area overlooking Bachelors Acre adding: ‘She continued to resist and she asked him to stop and tried to push him away. He continued to threaten to kill her if she made a sound.

‘The attack lasted nearly an hour. Her dress was pulled off, leaving her naked in the cold December night. Her personal phone and her work phone were both abandoned on the ground.’

The victim suffered scratches to her leg, bruising to her side and visible marks on her arms. 

Mr Blake said Brayley and the woman were seen emerging from Bachelors Acre at 3.20am.

He said the defendant continued to make threats and kept a tight grip of her arm until they stopped by the Scotch Bar.

A doorman came out to smoke and the victim ran towards him and he ushered her inside.

The victim realised she was in danger of being sexually assaulted and attempted to resist, Mr Blake said. CCTV footage, while distant and fuzzy, captured some of the initial struggle, he added

The victim suffered scratches to her leg, bruising to her side and visible marks on her arms, it is alleged. Brayley denies two counts of rape 

Brayley left the scene and returned to his barracks, the court was told.

Police arrested him later that morning and forensic tests showed Brayley’s DNA had been found on the victim.

Brayley told police that he gone to a pub called the Duchess before moving to another bar called the The Ticket Hall.

He stated that he had drunk between eight and nine pints over the evening and taken cocaine.

He told police that he had encountered his alleged victim on his way home but claimed she put her hands into his trousers and said ‘let’s have some fun’.

Brayley said that he removed her arm and told her he had a girlfriend.

He denied having sex with her and claims CCTV footage appearing to show him pinning her down were actually him trying to help her walk. 

He could not account for the injuries to the woman or the presence of the broken and discarded underwear.

Brayley, who denies two counts of rape, was remanded in custody. The case continues.