James Holder, the 54-year-old co-founder of the clothing brand Superdry, has been sentenced to eight years in prison after being found guilty of raping a woman in her home following a night out in Cheltenham.
The incident occurred in the early hours of May 7, 2022, after Holder and a friend returned uninvited to the woman’s residence. During the evening, Holder briefly fell asleep on the woman’s bed before waking and coercing her from the lounge into her bedroom, where he committed the assault.
Holder denied the charges, claiming any sexual activity was consensual. However, a jury at Cirencester Courthouse rejected this defense, acquitting him of assault by penetration but convicting him of rape.
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At Bristol Crown Court, Recorder David Chidgey condemned Holder’s actions as “a despicable piece of sexual violence,” emphasizing that Holder’s behavior stemmed from a blatant sense of entitlement and disregard for the woman’s autonomy and rights.
The victim testified that she was crying and pleading for the assault to stop, details that Holder’s defense counsel contested by suggesting the encounter was consensual, which the court firmly dismissed.
Holder, a married father of two from Cheltenham, appeared virtually from HMP Hewell during sentencing and showed no visible response to the court’s decision.