Former Worcestershire all-rounder Alex Hepburn has been sentenced to five years in prison for raping a woman he found ‘dozing’ in a teammate’s bed.
Hepburn, 23, was jailed by Judge Jim Tindal and branded ‘immature’ in orchestrating a “pathetic sexist game to collect as many sexual encounters as possible.”
The Australian-born cricketer helped to set up a Whatsapp group whose leud participants would gloat at their sexual conquests.
In announcing the ruling and concluding the court case, the Judge added: “You probably thought it was laddish behaviour at the time. In truth it was foul sexism.
“It demeaned women and trivialised rape – a word you personally threw around lightly. Only now do you realise how serious rape is.”
Hepburn was found guilty of oral rape at his retrial at Worcester Crown Court earlier this month before his sentencing at Hereford Crown Court.
Worcestershire promised to reform its culture in the wake of charges being brought against Hepburn.
