MAN FOUND GUILTY OF ATTEMPTED RAPE IN MIDDLESBROUGH
A man has been convicted of attempted rape after threatening to attack a woman with a hammer during a ‘terrifying ordeal’.Teesside Crown Court heard that Selvaratnam Nallathamby demanded the woman perform a sexual act on him, warning he would rape her if she refused.
Nallathamby, of no fixed abode, denied the allegations but was found guilty of one count of attempted rape after a trial which began on Wednesday (March 18).
He was cleared of a second charge.
He had the assistance of a Tamil interpreter throughout his jury trial at Teesside Crown Court.
The court heard that the offences took place on October 3, 2025, on Elkington Walk in Middlesbrough, after the defendant met the complainant in the town centre.
The woman, who was homeless at the time, told Nallathamby she was cold and hungry.
He offered her food, clothes and a shower at his flat and paid for her bus fare.
Jurors were told that on the way to the address, Nallathamby bought alcohol from an off licence and was said to have repeatedly tried to hold the woman’s hand and put his arm around her.
The complainant said she asked him to stop, which he did.
After arriving at the flat, the woman ate food and went to take a shower.
The situation then changed, the prosecution said, describing the events that followed as a "terrifying ordeal".
The complainant told the court that after she finished showering, she asked for her clothes back and the defendant replied with a lewd remark.
She said that as she tried to leave, Nallathamby armed himself with a hammer and made demands, telling her she wasn't leaving until she performed a sex act on him.
In a video recorded interview played to the jury, the complainant described what happened, saying the defendant told her that he gave her a shower and food and that she wasn't leaving until she performed a sex act on him.
She alleged that he pushed her to the floor when she tried to leave and ripped her trousers, in the crotch area, in the process.
The jury heard that she eventually fled the flat barefoot, wearing ripped trousers and only a jacket, knocking on neighbours doors to ask them to ring the police.
Nallathamby was arrested shortly after.
During cross examination, the complainant was asked why she had agreed to go to the flat, when she said she felt uncomfortable when he was trying to hold her hand and put his arm around her.
She replied: "I was just desperate for warmth and food I didn't think it would come to any of this." Nallathamby denied the allegations.
He told the court that the woman approached him asking for help and that she had asked him to wash her clothes after using the shower.
He claimed she became angry and refused to leave when he told her to stop her behaviour.
He accepted picking up a hammer but said he did not threaten her and only wanted her to leave.
The defence said he intended to return her clothes the next day.
Sentencing is scheduled for May 15.
