Preston rape trial will be delayed for a year

Amanuel Tsegay has denied the rape of an 18-year-old woman last autumn.

The 35-year-old, of Lords Avenue, Salford, Manchester, previously entered not guilty pleas in a hearing at Preston’s Sessions House Court.

The rape is alleged to have happened on a grassed area in Lord Street, next to the Guild Hall, at around 4.20am on Sunday, September 22, after the woman became separated from her friends.

Lancashire Police launched an appeal or information after the case was reported.

Tsegay was charged by the Crown Prosecution Service with rape and is also accused of a sexual assault on a different woman on the same day in Lancaster Road, Preston.

His trial was originally listed for March 13 this year, but the coronavirus pandemic has caused a significant backlog of cases in the criminal justice system, which was already struggling with delays.

During a hearing before Preston Crown Court, Judge Beverly Lunt fixed the trial, which is expected to last for nine days, for March 9 next year.

(proceeding)