An investment banker accused of raping a woman at his £1million flat after meeting her on Bumble admitted he does ‘push boundaries’, a court heard.
Varun Venaik, 31, kissed and touched the woman intimately with her consent before forcing himself on her, it is claimed.
She later messaged him saying: ‘I tried to make it clear that no meant no,’ and ‘In future please respect when someone says no.’
Australian Venaik denies raping the woman at his basement apartment in Marylebone, central London and insisted her messages did not raise ‘alarm bells’.
Venaik told Southwark Crown Court he had an ‘amazing’ time with his alleged victim and when she messaged him saying she had not wanted to have sex, he did not think she was accusing him of rape, but later replied: ‘I do push boundaries.’
Varun Venaik, 31, kissed and touched the woman intimately with her consent before forcing himself on her in his £1million apartment, it is alleged
Giving evidence at Southwark Crown Court today, the alleged victim told how she had tried to push Venaik (pictured) away during his ‘forceful’ attack
Cross-examining Venaik, prosecutor James Dick said he had claimed the woman had performed a sex act on the accused before he penetrated her.
‘Those two important things are omitted from your statement,’ said Mr Dick.
‘I was shocked after having been arrested and essentially spent the night in a cold cell,’ Venaik explained.
‘I was still coming to grips with what had happened. Having not slept well at all, I had two cups of coffee.
‘I had nothing to eat. My brain was not thinking rationally. It was a whirlwind.’
Venaik claimed the woman let out a moan and had her arms around his neck while he penetrated her.
Mr Dick suggested that this is not true. Venaik replied: ‘I can remember those parts like it was yesterday.’
‘What was going through your head about the date when she left?’ asked Mr Dick.
‘It was positive. I was tired. I thought we could catch up later in the week.’
Venaik then messaged the woman, and she did not reply. He was asked if this worried him at the time.
‘No, people take different times to respond,’ he told the court.
The alleged attack took place at Venaik’s £1million home, Southwark Crow Court (pictured) heard
He then contacted her again. She messaged him the next day saying: ‘We ended up having sex when I didn’t want to.’
But Venaik said he did not think at this point that she was accusing him of rape.
‘I remembered the events clearly. I knew what had happened. I thought she was upset. I thought she was upset about me being forward but that’s it.’
‘None of those messages sent alarm bells ringing. Not at all.’
The woman texted him again, saying: ‘I tried to make it clear that no meant no,’ and ‘In future please respect when someone says no.’
Venaik messaged her back admitting: ‘I do push the boundaries.’
He said: ‘I was trying to side with her as much as possible.
‘I was trying to empathise with her, trying to accept her version so that we could move on.
‘My only thoughts were for her. We had an amazing time together.
‘We gelled, we had amazing chemistry. I found out so much about her.’
He said that when he was texting her she was behaving ‘almost like a different person’ to the one he had spent the previous night with.
Giving evidence, the alleged victim said that she had repeatedly told Venaik that she does not have sex on a first date and that she ‘pushed him away’.
She said she kissed him when she left his flat after the alleged incident because she did not want him to see that she was ‘scared’ and ‘anxious’.
Vanaik denies rape. The trial continues.
