Sheriff KJ Campbell QC, at the All-Scotland Personal Injury Court, found the pursuer to be “a credible and, in most respects, reliable witness”. The defender, however, was not “credible in his account of the event which is at the heart of this case”.

On 14 July 2015, the pursuer met a friend – Stacey Robertson – in Dundee. They went to a nightclub – The Underground. They met the defender and others. The party, of four, ultimately returned to Ms Robertson’s flat. Between 3 and 4am the defender was accused of raping the pursuer.

The case had gone to the High Court in Edinburgh 2017, where the defendant was acquitted after a jury returned a verdict of ‘not proven’. Sheriff Campbell, however, found that the “defender raped the pursuer”.

Sheriff Campbell stated: “There was no evidence that the pursuer indicated express consent in any way. The defender accepted there was no discussion between him and the pursuer about having sex. The defender’s case is that he had a reasonable belief that she consented to sexual intercourse. He said in evidence he thought they were going to sleep together because of the way they were together. I infer that to be a reference to their interactions in the club earlier in the evening. I do not accept that is sufficient to indicate consent to sexual intercourse. Nor do I accept his evidence that all was well because of ‘the vibes’ and the absence of vocal objection by the pursuer.”

He added: “I am satisfied on the balance of probabilities that the defender raped the pursuer.”

The pursuer was awarded £119,250 in damages.