Former teacher accused of raping three women gives evidence – live updates

A former teacher accused of raping three women over a 20-year period is giving evidence at his trial for a second day.

Daniel Gravell is alleged to have raped a teenager at his home in 2001, to have raped a second teenager outside a rugby club in 2005, and to have raped a third woman in a hotel bedroom in 2021.

The 45-year-old defendant denies the allegations, and is on trial at Swansea Crown Court. Always keep on top of the latest Welsh news with our newsletter

It is the prosecution case that the 2001 allegation involves a woman who Gravell met on a night out in Carmarthen town centre in the summer of that year. It is said the pair went back to the defendant’s house in nearby Johnston where they engaged in consensual kissing before the woman said she was on her period. The prosecution said at that point Gravell “yanked out” the woman’s tampon and raped her.

The second alleged rape is said to have happened in Carmarthen town centre in the summer of 2005 after Gravell met a teenager outside the Rose and Crown pub on Lammas Street. The court was told that he took her down an alley to the clubhouse of Carmarthen Athletic rugby club where he raped her.

The prosecution said the third alleged rape happened in 2021 and involved a woman the defendant had met on Facebook. It is alleged that when the pair met the defendant drove her to the Baltic Inn hotel in Ponyates, which Gravell was running at the time, and raped her in a bedroom.

Beginning his evidence on Tuesday, the defendant told the court that he grew up in Carmarthen where he attended the local Queen Elizabeth Maridunum School and played rugby for Carmarthen Athletic before going to Cardiff University in September 2001 and training to be a teacher. The defendant said he probably had a reputation around Carmarthen for “sleeping with a lot of girls”.

In response to questions from his barrister Julia Flanagan, Gravell denied the 2001 incident happened at all saying the woman making the allegation had never even been to his house. He denied giving the woman a sexually transmitted disease.

Questioned about the 2005 allegation, Gravell said he met the complainant outside the Rose and Crown pub on Lammas Street in Carmarthen town centre and said they had chatted for around 10 minutes. He described their conversation as “flirty”. The defendant said the pair later had consensual sex.

Asked by his barrister if he was “surprised” to be having sex with someone he had met just 15-20 minutes before, he replied it was “unexpected but not unwelcome” adding it was “not uncommon” for him to have sex with women he had not known for long.

The defendant was also asked about the aftermath of a 2016 trial when he was found not guilty of rape. He told the court he had “naively” thought he would be able to get back to teaching and to a normal life, but he said things were “horrendous” with messages posted about him online, his car vandalised, death threats made, and “Dan G rapist” sprayed around Carmarthen.

The defendant will return to the witness box this morning to continue giving evidence.

Daniel Clive Gravell, of Porth-y-Plas, Johnstown, Carmarthen, denies indecent assault and three counts of rape, and the trial continues.

You can follow today’s evidence on our live court blog below: