A JURY heard for the second time how an ex-RAF nurse allegedly whipped a prostitute with rosebushes in his North Yorkshire home.

Judge Peter Fox QC, summing up the case of Christopher Dearman reminded jurors how the 54-year-old also allegedly caned his bride-to-be and raped two women who turned to him for help.

Dearman denies three rape charges, three counts of indecent assault and five of bodily harm assault. Judge Fox told the jury at Teesside Crown Court, Middlesbrough, how Dearman was accused of lashing the prostitute from Leeds while she was tied to a table at his former home Stonegarth, in Wass, near Malton.

The woman claimed he later struck her with a belt. Dearman denied the incidents saying he had offered the woman help, but she later turned against him.

Judge Fox also outlined how a second alleged victim from Selby met Dearman after she advertised for a companion in a local newspaper. The woman, who eventually married him, says Dearman struck her with a cane while claiming to offer her therapy and hit her during an argument before the couple separated.

Dearman said the woman had a grudge against him because she did not understand his Christian duty to help those in need.

A third alleged victim, the jury were told, said Dearman raped and caned her during hypnotherapy sessions to overcome depression and agoraphobia. He claimed the woman made up the accusations when he refused to lend her cash.

Dearman's fourth alleged victim, said Judge Fox, was a young heroin addict in her 20s, who Dearman brought to his house claiming he could help her kick her habit and overcome psychological problems. The woman had claimed her therapy included caning, intercourse, assault and indecent assault.

Dearman said the woman, a former prostitute, had insisted on being caned and he had hit her to stop hysterics caused by drug withdrawal. He said she had consented to the sex because she was emotionally attached to him.

The jury is expected to retire to consider their verdict on Monday.

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