Tennis star Anne Keothavongs husband Andrew Bretherton cleared of rape

Tennis ace Anne Keothavong shed tears in court after her lawyer husband was on Wednesday cleared of raping a woman before they were married.

Jurors took less than an hour to unanimously acquit Andrew Bretherton, 49, of two counts of rape alleged to have taken place over 14 years ago in May 2008.

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, claimed that he pinned her face down on the bed so she could not breathe before forcing himself on her without her consent.

However, the Oxford-educated corporate lawyer, who is a semi-professional tennis player himself, was found not guilty after inconsistencies in his alleged victim’s evidence were pointed out during the two-week trial at Inner London Crown Court.

Mr Bretherton married former GB No 1 Anne in 2015, and they have two children.

Claim victim gave conflicting accounts

The alleged rape victim waited for 10-and-a-half years before naming Mr Bretherton to police.

He has waited for almost four years to clear his name after police first told him about the rape allegations in January 2019. He was charged in November last year.

The woman told police he had played Welcome to the Jungle by Guns ‘N’ Roses before attacking her.

But it later emerged she had never mentioned that when she visited a rape crisis centre within a week of the alleged attack.

The court heard the woman only became interested in taking the case further after reading about a civil suit Harvey Weinstein was facing in Britain.

Lawyers for Mr Bretherton also claimed she had given conflicting accounts about the alleged rape and tried to prevent some of the evidence from being disclosed.

His wife broke down in tears in court as she described her husband as a “fantastic person” who has “never been remotely aggressive” when she gave character evidence on Monday.

Mr Bretherton, who had bought a packed bag with him, showed little visible emotion as the jury foreman said he was not guilty of each charge while his wife, Anne, wept in the public gallery.

'You held your head high'

After the verdict, Judge Jane Rowley told jurors: “The common sense view was clearly shown in this case and you came to the right verdicts.”

She told Mr Bretherton: “As I am sure you understand, once a complaint is made the officers are only doing their job.

“You held your head high and answered all the questions.

“I wish you and all your family the very best for the future.”

The former tennis champion and her husband hugged and kissed outside the courtroom after the case finished.

Neither of them wished to make any comment on the verdict.

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