Former postman denies raping prostitute

A FORMER postman accused of raping a prostitute in an Ipswich alleyway has told a court that he paid the woman £30 to have sex with her.

Jamie Garnham, 34, said he had gone to the red light area of Ipswich after drinking in local pubs and the woman had approached him and asked if he “wanted any business”.

He had initially agreed to pay her £20 to perform a sex act on him and they had gone to an alleyway near Elliott Street.

Once there he handed over £20 and the woman had started performing a sex act on him.

He said there had been no discussion about contraception and Garnham claimed that the woman had kept telling him to “hurry up” because she was losing business.

He said the woman then invited him to pay her an extra £10 for full sex and he agreed to do this.

Garnham, of Richmond Road, Ipswich, accepted that while he was having sex with the woman she had said to him “get off I'm losing business” but he denied telling her to “shut up”.

He also denied pushing her to the ground, punching her 10 times in the face and hitting her head against a fence.

Garnham said: “I used no violence towards her at all.

“She never appeared not to consent to what was going on.”

Garnham has denied raping the woman on March 10.

It has been alleged that he gave the prostitute £15 and when she complained that he hadn't paid enough he had allegedly snatched the money back and raped her.

The court has heard that a local resident had seen the woman run out of the alleyway in a distressed state and had earlier heard a woman shouting “get off” and a man saying “shut up”.

Garnham told the court that he was employed by the Royal Mail in a sorting office having formerly worked as a postman.

He said he had a previous conviction for assault in 1999 relating to an argument with his former girlfriend's boyfriend.

Garnham admitted that he had used prostitutes on “a handful of occasions” before meeting his fiancé three-and-a-half years ago.

He said that on the night in question he had been out drinking in Ipswich and had asked the prostitute how much she charged because he had been “feeling fruity”.

The trial continues.