James Holder, a cofounder of the British fashion brand Superdry, was sentenced to eight years in prison after a jury convicted him of rape following an incident involving a woman after a night of drinking, according to the Associated Press.
The sentence was handed down by Judge David Chidgey at Bristol Crown Court in western England. The court had previously heard the case at Gloucester Crown Court, where the jury found Holder guilty of one count of rape but acquitted him of a separate charge of assault by penetration, the AP reported.
At trial, the woman testified that Holder joined her in a taxi and then entered her home without invitation after they had spent time at a bar in Cheltenham. She told the court that an assault happened after Holder woke from a short nap, AP said.
The AP reported that the woman said she cried during the assault as Holder continued despite her pleas to stop. Holder denied the charges and said all sexual activity was consensual, according to the AP report.
In sentencing Holder, Judge Chidgey described the offense as “a despicable piece of sexual violence,” the AP said. He added that it involved “entitlement,” and “your sense of entitlement and your sense of doing what you wanted,” along with what he characterized as disregard for the victim’s right to decide what happens to her own body.
Holder appeared via video link from Hewell prison, wearing a grey sweatshirt and jogging pants, and the AP reported that he did not react as the sentence was passed.