A JURY has been discharged in the case of an alleged sex attack by an Ipswich man with learning difficulties.Gerald Manthorpe, 62, denied attempted rape and an alternative charge of indecent assault.

A JURY has been discharged in the case of an alleged sex attack by an Ipswich man with learning difficulties.

Gerald Manthorpe, 62, denied attempted rape and an alternative charge of indecent assault.

In an earlier hearing, a woman who lives in the same group of flats as Manthorpe described how she heard male and female voices on the night in question as if they were having an argument. She said the row lasted for about 15 minutes.

Manthorpe, of Old Foundry Road, Ipswich, is alleged to have pinned the woman down on her bed and pulled down her pyjama trousers after she refused his invitation to have sex with him.

Manthorpe told police he had previously had sex with the woman and on the night in question he had been in bed with her when they had an argument about the duvet cover.

He claimed that he got out of bed intending to go home and the woman had turned on him.

He said he had held her down and put his hand over her mouth to calm her down.

The case is to be listed on December 2 for further directions.