'˜I warned University Challenge contestant about being creepy and lecherous'

A woman has told York Crown Court that Bartholomeo Joly de Lotbiniere, 21, had sex with her at York University as she tried to push him off following a night out.

But Joly de Lotbiniere told the jury of eight men and four women the sex was consensual and the incident amounted to a “failed one night stand”.

Giving evidence on Thursday, George Hall told the court how he warned the defendant about his comments towards girls when they went on holiday with a group of friends in the summer of 2014.

Mr Hall said that as they travelled around northern Europe he became concerned about “the amount he was talking about girls and the way he was talking about them”.

He said Joly de Lotbiniere was making “lustful comments” to the group about girls they would encounter on their trips which he said went beyond the normal amount.

Mr Hall said: “It made me feel uncomfortable. I did ask him to tone it down.”

The witness said he was trying to “stop him being creepy” and told the defendant he was teaching him “how to stop leching on girls”.

Mr Hall also recounted an incident in a nightclub when he saw Joly de Lotbiniere kissing a girl soon after arriving.

He told the jury how his friend appeared to be holding the girl with more force “than you would normally expect”.

Judge Paul Batty QC told the jury that Mr Hall was being called by the prosecution to give “rebuttal evidence” after another former York University student told them Joly de Lotbiniere was an “old fashioned gentleman”.

Defence witness Flossie Vice-Coles, 22, said the defendant was one of her best friends and a “kind, compassionate, gentle person”.

Miss Vice-Coles said: “I feel like he had values that a lot of boys at university didn’t. He was very respectful and kind.”

She said a lot of the men at university “would pursue girls” but “he would never do anything like that”.

The complainant in the case has described how Joly de Lotbiniere followed her into her room in June 2014 and took off her clothes, picked her up and put her on her bed before raping her.

She reported the case more than a year after the incident after seeing him on University Challenge, the jury has heard.

Joly de Lotbiniere said the sex was consensual but very brief as he had problems getting a full erection.

He said both he and the undergraduate felt “disappointment and regret” afterwards.

Joly de Lotbiniere denies rape and sexual assault.

The case was adjourned until Friday.