STUDENT CARRIED WOMAN HOME AND RAPED HER, JURY TOLD
Update 12/06/2026: A jury has overturned a conviction for rape involving a student originally found guilty of assaulting a woman met at a nightclub.Waleed Alharbi, a 26-year-old from Saudi Arabia, participated in three separate trials at Winchester Crown Court.
He was convicted in December on charges of raping and attempting to rape a woman at his student accommodation in Portsmouth.
Subsequently, it was determined that his conviction was unsafe.
A second jury could not reach a verdict, and a third jury acquitted him of all charges.
According to his lawyer, Philippa McAtasney KC, 'This defendant endured significant hardship, and although he is considered a man of good character, he spent 11 months in detention.' The court previously heard that Alharbi met the woman at the Astoria nightclub, and they left together early on June 28, 2025.
Prosecutors claimed that Alharbi helped the intoxicated woman walk part of the way to his flat on Greetham Street.
The student attending a language school asserted that their sexual encounter was consensual.
During deliberations after the guilty verdict, it was revealed that the jury was mistakenly shown footage of the victim's interview, which they should not have seen.
The Court of Appeal ordered a new trial, which resulted in a hung jury, and ultimately, a third jury acquitted the defendant following four hours of deliberation.
The Crown Prosecution Service announced that the case is now considered closed.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… A student from Saudi Arabia raped a drunken woman after carrying her part of the way from a nightclub to his halls of residence, a court has heard.
The complainant woke up to find the defendant attacking her in the bedroom of the flat in Greetham Street, Portsmouth, in the early hours of 28 June, prosecutors said.
Waleed Alharbi, 26, denies rape, claiming the sex was consensual, a jury at Portsmouth Crown Court was told.
The student also denies attempting to rape the woman, who is aged in her 30s, in his shower.
Mike Mason, prosecuting, said the pair met at the Astoria nightclub after the woman was told to sit down and rest by a bouncer.
When she started dancing again, she was approached by Mr Alharbi and another man, the prosecutor said.
He told the court: "The defendant was very drunk and he lifted [the complainant] up and placed her up against the wall and was kissing her.
"He took her outside and he carried her for some time and then she walked with him to his apartment - this is student accommodation.
"She needed his support to walk.
She was very drunk." Mr Mason said friends of the woman and Mr Alharbi had also gone to the apartment.
Inside the flat, Mr Alharbi banged his head and the friends left to buy a plaster, it was heard.
The defendant then "began touching her inappropriately and trying to take her dress off" before he started biting her, causing her to scream out in pain, Mr Mason said.
He said the defendant then "dragged" her into his bedroom and "she couldn't get out".
The friends, who later returned, could not enter the room because a key card was needed.
The victim went into the bathroom, followed by Mr Alharbi who pushed her down in the shower area, turned on the water and attempted to rape her, the prosecutor continued.
The complainant, who was "crying and screaming", then passed out but woke up to find the student raping her on his bed, the court heard.
She told him: "No, no, do not do this," the jury was told.
Afterward, the defendant rode off on a scooter, leaving the woman outside the building "sitting on the floor crying", Mr Mason said.
The trial continues.
