VIOLENT ATTACK |
Jamie Gurney, 31, required hospital treatment ahead of appearing in Coleraine Magistrates Court.
Jamie Gurney.
Steven Moore and Paul Higgins
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A barber accused of raping a woman twice in a day last week was attacked in a bar before the police arrested him, we can reveal.
On Monday Antrim man Jamie Gurney appeared at Coleraine Magistrates Court charged with rape and other sex offences.
Pictured here for the first time, the 31-year-old is accused of two counts of rape, alleging that he had unlawful sexual intercourse with the woman without her consent, and was also charged with sexual assault by penetrating the alleged victim with a finger.
Jamie Gurney.
Today’s News in 90 Seconds – July 27th
Appearing in the dock of Coleraine Magistrates Court, Gurney, from The Meadow in Antrim, confirmed that he understood the three charges against him, all alleged to have been committed on July 18 this year.
It has since emerged Gurney was the victim of a violent assault which left him requiring hospital treatment.
The Sunday World can reveal he was set upon inside licensed premises in Antrim town shortly before he was arrested by police on suspicion of rape.
“He got a bad doing before the police arrested him,” said a source. “He was attacked by a number of people and left in a bad way.”
After being treated in hospital, Gurney was arrested and charged with the serious sex offences.
Asked about the attack, a police spokesperson told the Sunday World: “Police received a report of an assault on a man in the Fountain Street area of Antrim in the early hours of Saturday 19th July.
“Officers attended and a man aged in his 30s was arrested on suspicion of assault and possession of an offensive weapon.”
Giving evidence to the court, Detective Constable Blair said on Monday he believed he could connect Gurney to each of the alleged sex offences.
Defence counsel Jonathan Browne indicated that “subject to the court,” the police had agreed that Gurney could be granted bail on condition that he has a suitable bail address.
DC Blair agreed that is the position so Deputy District Judge Noel Dunlop granted bail in the sum of £500 but ordered that Gurney will not be freed until the police have agreed a suitable address.
Adjourning the case to August 12, the judge barred Gurney from entering Antrim, barred him from contacting the alleged victim and also imposed a prohibition on alcohol.