A Met officer on trial accused of rape told police he thought he was about to begin a relationship with his alleged victim, a court today heard.

James Geoghegan, 27, said

A Met officer on trial accused of rape told police he thought he was about to begin a relationship with his alleged victim, a court today heard.

James Geoghegan, 27, said he and the woman had 'passionate sex' at her home in Essex after going clubbing with her and other friends.

He told officers in his interview that it was a 'complete shock' when he awoke to the woman's flatmate telling him to leave or she would call 999.

In a prepared statement given to police, which was read to jurors at Chelmsford Crown Court today, the defendant, said the woman had asked him after he awoke: 'Did you not hear me say no?'

Geoghegan, who had a girlfriend at the time, said: 'It was a complete shock, I didn't know what she was on about. She said she had said no to having sex.

'I was so shocked. I genuinely thought we were going to wake up and spend the day together and start seeing each other like we were saying the night before.

'I was so shocked because as far as I knew we just had passionate sex with each other and it was really good and things were good between us.'

The defendant, from Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, denies rape.

Met Police Office James Geoghegan, 27, told police that he and his alleged victim had 'passionate sex' and it was a 'complete shock' when he awoke to the woman's flatmate telling him to leave or she would call the police. Pictured: Library image of Scotland Yard

In his prepared statement, he said that he and the woman had taken a taxi to her home together in December 2018.

He said they 'danced, mainly to (rapper) Drake' at her home.

He said he offered to sleep on the sofa but she 'insisted' he sleep in her bed.

'She laughingly said we were going to have a cuddle and a spoon,' he said.

He said they had both been drinking but had been 'having long and involved conversations'.

The response officer, whose mother was in court, wiped tears from his eyes as defence barrister Nicholas Corsellis QC said Geoghegan had waited a long time for the case to be heard.

He is 'currently suspended from being a police officer', Mr Corsellis said.

The defendant said he spoke to the woman on a night out before they went to her flat together.

He said he had joked about proposing to her and going on a honeymoon.

'We were laughing and joking but the undertone was serious - I thought we were going to be together after this,' he said.

He went on: 'I genuinely thought that (the woman) and I were going to be together like we said... we always said we were going to be together, I thought that was happening.'

He said they took a taxi to her home and she invited him in.

Asked by Mr Corsellis if he thought he and the woman were 'going to have sex no matter what', the defendant replied: 'No, definitely not'.

Geoghegan said he 'definitely thought she was attracted to me'.

He said that after they brushed their teeth in the bathroom, she told him he would be 'sleeping in her bed with her and we were going to have a cuddle and a spoon'.

He said she 'put her arms round my waist and led me into her room'.

Prosecutors had previously told the court that Geoghegan had decided to sleep at the woman's home instead of returning to his home in Enfield, north London.

They told jurors that he had followed his alleged victim into her room 'uninvited' later that morning as she was undressing.

Prosecutor Wayne Cleaver said Geoghegan proceeded to try to take off the victim's pyjama bottoms, to which she replied 'stop, think about your girlfriend'.

Jurors were told that she repeated this several times to try to 'discourage him' as she was 'not interested in intercourse' but this was ignored.

After gesturing that she was not interested in going further, the alleged rape took place on her bed, the court heard.

In a prepared statement given to police, which was read to jurors at Chelmsford Crown Court (pictured)  today, the defendant, who had a girlfriend at the time, said the woman had asked him after he awoke: 'Did you not hear me say no?'

In a police video interview played in court, the woman said: 'I pulled them back up, said, 'No. Stop'.

'He then pulled them back down. I just remember lying there looking at the ceiling thinking, "This is disgusting",' she said. 

She said the defendant fell asleep afterwards and she cried.

Mr Cleaver said: 'The prosecution case is simple, (the victim) said ‘no’ and (the victim) said ‘stop’ and that is exactly what she meant.

'He accepted in the living room and later in those messages that he heard her say it more than once, but he took no notice of her.

'He disregarded her limits and decided instead to press on.'

Mr Cleaver added: 'It was totally unreasonable, he had no reasonable belief that she was consenting, less still that she was inviting sexual intercourse with him.

'It may be that he felt that he had waited long enough and this was his opportunity to go all the way without any real regard to what she actually wanted and to what she was clearly indicating.'

He said that as a police officer, Geoghegan had 'professional insight' on where 'sexual boundaries may be crossed'.

The trial continues.