Dietitian accused of raping Tinder date within minutes of arriving at her home

James Clacher is on trial at the High Court in Glasgow accused of raping two women.

Dietitian James Clacher accused of raping Tinder date within minutes of arriving at her homeSNS Group

A man has been accused of raping a woman he had met on Tinder within minutes of showing up at her home.

The victim told the court she was raped after the man she had initially believed was a dietician and fitness instructor, called James Clarke, turned up at her home.

She told jurors he remained silent before eventually stating he had to leave as a relative had taken ill.

James Clacher, 57, is on trial at the High Court in Glasgow accused of raping the woman in August 2019 and a second woman in September 2020.

He denies the charges.

Giving evidence behind a screen, the woman told how she had met her alleged attacker through the Tinder dating app and they had agreed to go for dinner near her home in South Ayrshire.

She recalled how the man – who had told her he was 41 – had turned up early at her house and she offered him a drink while she finished getting ready.

The woman went to pour herself a glass of prosecco, and he asked if he could use the toilet before returning downstairs.

The woman said she was standing in the kitchen when she could feel him “right behind” her.

She claimed it was not long after that he grabbed her, pushed her against the wall and tried to kiss her. He also allegedly touched her inappropriately.

The woman stated that the man went on to rape her.

Asked in court if he said anything, the woman told jurors: “He did not say a word. I said, ‘I do not like this. I do not want to do this’. I kept saying that.

“He was just ignoring me. My body started shaking and I started crying.”

The woman said this happened within “ten to 15 minutes max” of him turning up.

She further claimed the man then made her go upstairs and “raped me again”.

This was after he allegedly pushed her onto a bed. She told the trial that he again did not say a word.

The woman: “I did not know what to do. I do not know if I felt anything. I was just numb.”

The woman had gone to the bathroom and, when she came back, the man claimed he had to leave as he had been told his brother had suffered a heart attack.

She did not immediately report what happened and instead told her doctor days later.

Police went to her home, but she was “not ready for that conversation” at that time.

The court heard there was then contact between the woman and the Tinder date. This included her calling him a “predatory rapist”.

There was also a phone call, which the woman recorded part of. This was played to the jurors.

She confronted him with her claims which included her stating she was “a vessel for what you wanted”.

She added at one stage: “It is all about you, isn’t it?”

The woman also got in touch with Tinder.

The witness told the court: “I did not want anyone else hurt by him.”

She was shown a Tinder profile during the trial and identified the man in it as Clacher.

The attack on the second woman is alleged to have occurred in Glasgow’s Gorbals in September 2020.

The trial, before judge Lord Cubie, continues.

STV News is now on WhatsApp

Get all the latest news from around the country

Follow STV News
Follow STV News on WhatsApp

Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country

WhatsApp channel QR Code