Australian cricketer found guilty of rape; to flaunt conquests

According to reports, Hepburn committed the crime in a desperate bid to ‘score’ in a WhatsApp game between him and his male friends

Former Australian cricketer Alex Hepburn has been found guilty of raping a sleeping woman following a retrial at Worcester Crown Court on Saturday. The 23-year old will now face a prison sentence after being convicted on one charge of rape. He, however, got cleared of a second charge which related to the same victim. According to reports, Hepburn committed the crime in a desperate bid to ‘score’ in a WhatsApp game between him and his male friends in which they ranked each other on ‘sexual conquests’. Social media conversations, which prosecutors claimed may have been 'scores' from a previous sexual conquest competition, were also kept from the jury. Judge Jim Tindal told him a jail term was 'inevitable'. 'You have been convicted and now fall to be sentenced. I am adjourning your case for the preparation of a pre-sentence report. But it would not be a kindness to you to leave you under any false impression as to the purpose of that report. “There is only one sentence that can properly be handed down in this case, and a custodial sentence is inevitable. You need to prepare yourself and get matters in order and attend the Hereford Crown Court on April 30,” he said. About Alex Hepburn Born in Western Australia, Hepburn moved to England in 2013 to pursue the cricketing career. The 23-year-old was charged with raping a woman, not identified, while she was asleep into her bed at the co-shared apartment on April 1 in 2017. Hepburn had denied the charges.