“IT wasn’t like forceful, what I saw,” said a bartender giving evidence about a man standing trial for the rape of a 16-year-old girl.

Ronan Murphy, 27, is accused of raping a young teenager he met in The Oxo Bar in George Street in Oxford on December 15, 2021.

The pair could be seen on CCTV going back to a Didcot hotel before he allegedly raped the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

Read the start of the trial here.

Murphy was charged with one count each of rape and assault by penetration after the girl was allegedly too drunk to consent. He has denied the offences.

At Oxford Crown Court on Wednesday (April 24), the bartender at the cocktail bar told a jury the girl was ‘unresponsive’ when in the bar.

However, he stated she had slowly become conscious after he had taken her outside and given her water.

After about half an hour, he saw her kissing the defendant. During cross-examination, the bartender said: “It was unexpected from both of them.

“It wasn’t like forceful what I saw, she was alright, she was okay. I would have stayed outside to at least witness what was going on and possibly interject if things went sideways but I didn’t see anyone forcing themselves.”

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Speaking earlier in his evidence, he said when the girl had entered the bar she had quickly ‘fallen asleep’ or ‘became unconscious’ so he had decided to take her outside for some fresh air and water.

“Initially she didn’t say much,” he said. “She didn’t drink that much water but I knew I had to keep at it.

“She was unresponsive. A gentleman suggested that we get her into a taxi but that’s all I remember really.

“I don’t remember exactly how long [she was outside], maybe 20 minutes or half an hour. She started to recover, not too much, but a little bit.

“I basically kept asking if she was okay and just trying make social talk so I could get her to engage more and become conscious, I guess but she wasn’t very responsive.”

The bartender said he had left the girl for a moment to tend to the bar but when he came back outside she was kissing the defendant.

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“I remember the last time I went outside she had recovered quite a bit more and I believe she was making out with the guy in question,” he said.

“I asked if she was okay, if she wanted me to order a taxi to go him and I believe she said she waiting for her friends.”

The trial continues.