Former Mr Gay UK ‘devastated’ by rape charge

A policeman and former Mr Gay UK has told a court he was “devastated” at being charged with rape after a Christmas night out with colleagues.

PC Mark Carter, from Birkenshaw, was charged with sexually assaulting three men and raping a fourth in December 2009.

Yesterday, he told a trial at Leeds crown court he had “embarked on an absolute living nightmare”, BBC News reports.

Mr Carter, who won the Mr Gay UK title in 2006, said he met the alleged rape victim in the Loft Bar on December 18th and the pair went back to the Etap hotel.

He is accused of dragging the man by his hair and raping him.

Mr Carter, who denies all the charges against him, said: “I’m not a violent person. We had gone back for mutual pleasure, a sexual encounter. I didn’t take him back to beat him up.”

He claimed he took a shower after the pair had sex and was surprised to discover that the man had left.

The court heard that the alleged victim had left the hotel by a fire exit before alerting a passerby. Police then went to the hotel room.

Mr Carter also denies another three counts of sexual assault in the same evening. In court, he said the gay scene was “bitchy” with “drama queens who make things up”.