Crown Prosecution Service drops rape charge against Newbury man Toby Sonubi

A MAN accused of raping and strangling a woman has had the charges dropped.

Twenty-one-year-old Toby Sonubi, who lives in The Nightingales, Newbury, was charged with raping the woman in Thatcham.

In addition he was accused of intentional strangulation.

Mr Sonubi also faced two further charges of penetrative sex without the woman’s consent and a charge of unwanted sexual touching.

All the above offences were said to have happened in Thatcham on a specific date in June.

At an earlier hearing at Reading Magistrates’ Court Mr Sonubi was told all the above matters were being sent to Reading Crown Court to be dealt with by a judge and, in the event of a trial, by a jury, on a date to be fixed.

District judge Samuel Goozee meanwhile denied him bail and remanded Mr Sonubi in custody.

Since then, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has provided the following statement: “We offered no evidence in this case.”

District CPS prosecutor James Bailey-Woodward added: “We took the decision to stop this case because, following a further review, we concluded that there was no longer sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction.

“Our prosecutors have a duty to keep every case under continuous review, so that they take account of any change in circumstances that occurs as a case develops.”