An unlicensed taxi driver accused of raping a 27-year-old passenger and sexually assaulting a 19-year-old female student told Oxford Crown Court yesterday that he was 'not the sort of person to rape anyone'.

Sam Rahmouni, 37, of Danes Road, Bicester, denies both charges.

Giving evidence at Oxford Crown Court yesterday, the Oxford University student said she had been out celebrating at the end of term when she accepted a lift from Rahmouni. She alleged he repeatedly touched her. She said: "He said I had beautiful legs, and I'm in a taxi with someone I don't know, it's quite unnerving."

DNA taken from Rahmouni after his arrest matched that taken in 2002 from a 27-year-old bar manager who said she had been raped.

Rahmouni told the court yesterday: "It was the biggest shock of my life. I thought of it as a one-night stand, I'm not the sort of person to rape anyone."

The 27-year-old said she was raped after Rahmouni picked her up in the city centre. She said he dropped her off at her home and said: "Don't worry, I won't charge you." The defence claims the woman was drunk and consented to sex.

Rahmouni's former wife and an ex-girlfriend both appeared in court yesterday and said he had treated them with respect.

The judge was expected to sum up the case today before sending the jury out to consider their verdict.