Anne Keothavong defends husband in rape trial

Author: baileylindsey

Former British number one tennis star Anne Keothavong sobbed in court yesterday as she described rape allegations made against her husband as a ’sick joke.’

Corporate lawyer Andrew Bretherton, 49, is on trial accused of raping an American woman in his west flat after the pair shared a date in May 2008. 

Jurors had previously heard that he played the Guns ‘N Roses song ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ on his stereo before pinning the woman face down onto his bed. 

But Mrs Keothavong MBE, who met her husband in 2011 and married four years later, said Bretherton had ‘never been remotely aggressive’ and she was in ‘disbelief’ over the claims. 

‘The Andrew I know is a fantastic person, he is truly is a decent, decent man who makes me laugh every day, who makes me feel good about myself and a fantastic, fantastic father and great husband – he is very kind,’ she told Inner London Crown Court. 

She added: ‘He isn’t an aggressive person, this has been so outrageous, he isn’t an aggressive person. 

‘What you see is what you get with Andrew, anyone who knows Andrew knows what a good person he is, he quietly gets on with everything, he is a decent man. 

‘The whole thing is ridiculous, he would never do that [rape], he has never been remotely aggressive.’ 

The couple have had to speak with the school attended by their children, aged five and seven, about shielding them from the hellish effects of the high profile trial, nonton film lk21 the court heard. 

 Mrs Keothavong continued: ‘I am still in absolute disbelief that I have to stand here, having to justify anything about my husband. 

‘To be honest, when he first told me about it I actually burst out laughing because I thought it was some sick joke. 

‘There is nothing to the allegations that correlates with this man and his character.’

An ex-girlfriend of Bretherton’s described him as a ‘boring lover’ and a ‘respectful gentleman’ who was not particularly interested in sex. 

The woman, who was in a relationship with the Oxford-educated corporate finance lawyer for two-and-a-half years, said: ‘Whilst we were going out he was a very nice person to take him to my parents, they loved him.

‘

Just the two of us would enjoy completely standard sex, it was straightforward and even boring.’

Bretherton maintains that any sexual contact between him and the alleged victim was consensual, and said he has never owned a silver boombox as she described nor did he have a CD or tape that featured Welcome to the Jungle.

The alleged victim claimed the pair went on four dates but Bretherton only recalls two.

He told the court that when police first rang him to tell him of the allegations he ignored the calls, thinking it was a prank. 

His lawyer, Sarah Forshaw KC previously told the court victim initially inquired about a civil claim against Bretherton after reading about sexual offences committed by Hollywood movie mogul Harvey Weinstein a decade after her own alleged rape. 

In the interview on 15 January 2019, 12 days after he was informed about the allegation, he told officers: ‘It would have been consensual, there was absolutely no way I would have forced her to do anything she would not have wanted to do.’

Bretherton, who qualified at elite law firm Slaughter and May, denies two counts of rape. 

The trial continues.