A man stood trial yesterday accused of sexually assaulting a woman in her home.

While the 27-year-old admitted trespassing on the woman’s property in Warwick, he repeatedly denied sexually touching her.

The man, from Southampton, pleaded not guilty to both offences when he was first charged in October 2022.

Neither he nor the woman can be identified for legal reasons.

The woman told the court that she knew the man, who messaged her while intoxicated on March 12, 2022.

She said he caressed and kissed her after climbing up to her porch and through her bedroom window on the same date.

She added that despite being asked to leave the premises, the accused only did so after hearing another person at the residence.

Taking the stand, the defendant admitted visiting the woman’s residence and climbing up to her balcony to try and “rekindle the relationship”.

However, he said, he did not recall kissing or caressing her, adding that he tried to give her a hug, which he called a “real, genuine gesture”.

Prosecutor Karim Nelson told the court that kissing was often a “precursor to sexual acts” and that the man “must have gone” to the woman’s residence intent on having sex.

Elizabeth Christopher, for the accused, said there was no evidence to prove that he violated the woman’s sexual integrity or intended to do so.

She explained: “We all do things we would otherwise not do when we’ve been drinking — that explains why he wanted to reconcile the relationship at that time.”

Magistrate Craig Attridge adjourned the case to May 5 for judgment and extended the man’s bail until that time.

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