Man claims he was ‘raped and beaten’ by gay lover

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A man has claimed he was repeatedly beaten and raped by his former lover, who threatened to reveal his sexuality.

The High Court heard on Friday that the alleged victim, a foreign national, was forced to stand in a freezing shower and was repeatedly attacked.

His alleged attacker, a 40-year-old Belfast man, cannot be named for legal reasons. He was arrested in February.

He faces a total of 27 charges including three counts of rape, two of false imprisonment and four of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

The other charges are threats to kill, intimidation, attempted grievous bodily harm, two counts of indecent assault on a male, five counts of common assault and three of administering a substance with sexual intent.

According to the prosecution, the accused threatened to post photographs to his ex-partner’s parents, who did not know he was gay.

Defence counsel Sean Doherty said his client denied the claims, telling the court that sex between the couple had always been consensual.

The accused man’s application for bail was refused by Lord Justice Girvan who said he could not yet be released despite an “entirely unsatisfactory timescale”.