Rape case defendant opts for silence (From This Is Wiltshire)

Rape case defendant opts for silence

3:45pm Thursday 28th August 2008 in

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A MAN accused of raping a young mother in a Salisbury park 25 years ago has elected not to give evidence in his own defence.

Peter Harfield, 57, denies the charge at Salisbury Crown Court.

He admits that he had sex with the woman, who was then 19, at Bourne Hill Gardens, but says she consented.

Harfield, whose address was given in court as Crescent Tarrant, Andover, was charged after a cold case review which matched a DNA sample taken from the alleged victim back in March, 1983, to one taken from him after he was stopped by police on an unrelated matter in 2003.

Jurors heard that he told officers who arrested him earlier this year: "I have raped nobody, not in my lifetime."

The trial continues on Monday, when the jury is expected to be sent out to consider its verdict.