Woman, 71, 'raped by man, 27, at knifepoint'

A pensioner was subjected to a knifepoint rape by a man nearly 50 years her junior as she walked her two dogs, a jury heard today.

Michael Alcock, 27, set upon the 71-year-old retired teacher as she strolled through a disused airfield in Yatesbury, Wiltshire, with her King Charles spaniels, it was claimed.

Alcock, from Bridgend, south Wales, who denies the allegation, claimed the woman wanted sex with him and was prepared to pay for the pleasure, Swindon Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor Kerry Barker told the jury: "None of us know how we would react when faced with a demand for sex from someone younger, fitter and stronger that we are.

"How would we react if that demand was made in an isolated place where our cries for help could not be heard. Would we fight or would we try to persuade, or would we submit?

"What if the demand was enforced by the person having a knife? Would that make a difference? We just don't know. There's no standard set reaction."

Mr Barker added: "You are also going to have to decide whether she paid him to have sex with her - that is his defence case."

Alcock has pleaded not guilty to one count of rape on 3 December last year.