Rape accused pleads innocence
A 27-year-old man at the center of a widely reported rape allegation publicly appealed on Thursday that he be deemed innocent until proven guilty while insisting that he did not rape his accuser.
In a statement sent to broadcaster ANT1, the man, who was arrested by police following a complaint by a 24-year-old woman who said he had raped her at a New Year’s Eve party in Thessaloniki, said the sharing of only one version of the events on the night in question “does not serve the right to information nor the social interest.”
He said the discussion about the case undermined the presumption of innocence to which every person accused of a crime has a right.
“I feel the need to state, in the most categorical way, that I never committed ‘rape’ against the complainant since the physical contact took place with her total knowledge, awareness and consent,” he added.
