Telford rape case told of DNA samples
DNA found on a woman who claims she was raped by two men in a Telford alleyway was "a billion times more likely" to have come from one of the accused than anyone else, a scientist told a jury.
The forensic evidence was heard by Shrewsbury Crown Court on the seventh day of the trial of Andrius Grikpedis and Tomas Paplauskas, who each deny two charges of rape.
Grikpedis, 34, of Turreff Avenue, Donnington, and Paplauskas, 29, of no fixed address, are accused of attacking a 19-year-old epileptic woman in an alley near Telford International Centre in the early hours of July 27 last year.
Helen Sharman, a forensic scientist, who examined samples from the alleged victim and her clothing on behalf of West Mercia Police, told the court she discovered a DNA match to Paplauskas.
"In my opinion the scientific findings are a billion times more likely if the semen came from Tomas Paplauskas rather than if it came from someone other than - and unrelated - to him," she said.
She said Grikpedis could also have contributed to DNA profiles found on the alleged victim but none of these results were suitable for statistical evaluation.
"In my opinion I have a low expectation that an individual taken at random would be represented in the DNA profile taken from a number of separate items," she said.
"Therefore in my opinion the scientific findings are more likely if Mr Grikpedis contributed to this DNA profile rather than if he had not and the results were obtained by chance alone."
She said the presence of semen matching Mr Paplauskas is what she would expect if he had intercourse with the alleged victim.
But she said the scientific tests proved inconclusive as to whether Mr Grikpedis had intercourse with the alleged victim.
Previously, the trial had heard the alleged victim had been at Vox nightclub at Telford Town Centre with friends in before walking in the direction of the International Centre.
She said she recalled being followed by the two men and being dragged into bushes before blacking out due to her epilepsy. She said when she woke up the two men were raping her and then she blacked out again.
The trial continues.
