Jury sent home in rape trial of pub landlord Kevin Tweedy

Kevin Tweedy, who used to run The Artichoke in Norwich, has been on trial since Monday at King's Lynn Crown Court.

Tweedy, 66, who still lives at the pub on Magdalen Road, denied raping the woman on the night of July 20, 2015 at an earlier hearing. 

He also denied sexually assaulting the woman between January 1, 2013, and March 31 of the same year.

The jury of 10 men and two women were sent out to consider their verdict on Thursday afternoon.

On Friday afternoon, they told trial judge Recorder Rouse KC that they had been unable to reach a unanimous verdict.

The judge sent them home, requesting them to resume their deliberations on Tuesday.  

Kevin Tweedy used to run The Artichoke in Norwich (Image: Sonya Duncan)

At the opening of the trial, prosecutor Matthew Sorel-Cameron said the assault happened after Tweedy invited the woman to his home for a coffee after they had been drinking.

He said he lunged at the woman while they were sitting on the sofa, pinned her down and tried to kiss her.

Mr Sorel-Cameron said Tweedy raped the woman on the night of July 20, 2015 after he had been drinking.

He said she made it clear she did not want to have sex but he continued.

Mr Sorel-Cameron said the defendant exchanged text messages with his victim afterwards, telling her in January, 2022: "I did not assault [you], I went too far OK, I went too far."

But under cross examination by Stephen Rose, for Tweedy, the woman who made the allegation was asked about text messages exchanged by the pair around the time of the claimed assault which painted a different picture.

One from the woman to Tweedy said: "Thanks for a fantastic evening - many moments I will remember forever."

Mr Rose said if there was a sexual assault, there was no reference to it in the messages.

Mr Rose asked the woman why she had not gone to a place of safety after the alleged rape took place in 2015.

"You did not do this because it never happened, did it," he added.