A MAN accused of ‘attacking’ a woman in a South Oxfordshire beauty spot shouted ‘it wasn’t me’ as he was chased through town by a dog walker.

Robert Newman had stripped down to just his shorts when he made a getaway from Hurst Water Meadow, in Dorchester on August 3, Oxford Crown Court heard yesterday.

The 33-year-old, of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, denies assault by beating and another count of assault with intent to commit a sexual offence.

It comes after a woman said she was assaulted in the Meadow, near Wallingford, at around 11’o’clock that morning.

The 12 jurors, made up of eight men and four women, have previously heard how Newman ‘followed’ lone female dog walkers around the park before ‘pushing one of them into a nettle bush and attempting to climb on top of her’.

He allegedly told her to ‘shh’, ‘like he was talking to a child’ but she was screaming ‘as loud as she could’ while repeatedly punching and kicking him.

She managed to get onto her feet and ran away, falling to her knees before calling the police.

The whole ordeal lasted around 10 to 15 seconds, she told the court yesterday.

Defending Newman, Gordana Turudija-Austin said: “Was it the case that he bumped into you by accident, perhaps you tripped over your dog lead and you straight away started screaming?”

But the victim said it took her ‘time to think about what had happened’ before she shouted for help.

Ms Turudija-Austin said: “At no point whilst you were on the ground did he touch you in any way. As he stood above you he was telling you to shush.

“It simply doesn’t make sense. If he was stood on his feet, he couldn’t have been that close to you. You were on the floor but at no point did he touch you. You also said he didn’t try to stop your arms or legs. At no point did he touch your breasts. He did not touch your vagina. He did not try to kiss you.”

She added: “You were clearly concerned when you said you didn’t want him to get on top of you but at no point did he try and touch you. The only contact he made was the touching of your shoulder.”

Witness Kieran Gabby told the court yesterday that he had first seen Newman on the bridge into the Meadow and assumed he was a fisherman. He said hello but Newman, wearing a red top at the time simply winked back.

Later on in the walk Mr Gabby described he heard screaming but assumed it was just children playing in the water.

The truck driver from Yorkshire, who was visiting family in Dorchester, got up from his rest on a bench made from an old tree to investigate the noises.

On his way he saw Newman walking in a 'controlled but fast' motion in the opposite direction with his headphones in.

He then saw the victim who started shouting 'that man assaulted me'.

Mr Gabby described running through Dorchester looking for Newman as he was giving a commentary to a 999 call handler.

He said when he finally saw the man without a top or hat on he shouted: "You assaulted that woman."

But he shouted back: "It wasn't me."

Mr Gabby said: "That's not what she said."

To which he replied: "It wasn't me."

The trial continues.

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