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12th Apr 2019

Cricketer Alex Hepburn found guilty of rape after WhatsApp ‘sexual conquest game’

Jade Hayden

Former cricketer Alex Hepburn has been found guilty of rape.

The Worcestershire player attacked a sleeping woman in his flat on April 1, 2017 following a WhatsApp “sexual conquest game.”

23-year-old Hepburn was found guilty of one count of oral rape at his retrial today and cleared of a second count regarding the same victim.

He is due to be sentenced later this month.

Sky News reports that Hepburn covered his face, slumped in his chair, and sobbed after the verdict was handed down.

The cricketer had admitted to sending “disgusting, horrible and embarrassing” WhatsApp messages to set the “rules” of the sexual conquest game he was involved in.

However, he had denied the two counts of rape he was accused of.

The judge told Hepburn that a “custodial sentence is inevitable” meaning that he will likely serve prison time for the attack.

According to BBC News, the victim had had consensual sex with Hepburn’s then teammate Joe Clarke before falling asleep in his flat.

When she awoke, she thought she was having sex with Clarke. After 10 minutes, she realised it was Hepburn when she heard his “thick Australian accent.”

“She was engaging in the act so I presumed she was enjoying it,” said Hepburn.