Jurors have retired to consider their verdicts in the trial of Luiz da Silva Neto.

The 35-year-old is accused by prosecutors of drugging and sexually assaulting two men a month apart in his Cotswold cottage in Middle Barton in November and December last year.

Having spent more than two hours summarising the evidence to the panel of 12 jurors at Oxford Crown Court this morning, Judge Michael Gledhill QC sent them out to consider their verdicts shortly after 1.05pm.

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“You are to strive to reach unanimous verdicts on each count, that is verdicts on which you are all agreed,” he said. They were told there was no time pressure.

Da Silva Neto denies various charges, including administering a substance with intent, rape, kidnap and non-consensual sexual activity.

During the two-week trial, jurors have heard how the defendant was accused of performing an oral sex act on the first complainant, who was at the Middle Barton cottage to help with some DIY work.

The second man was allegedly kidnapped from the Kings Road, having spent the night drinking with his colleagues in Chelsea, before being driven to another flat in London and then on to Oxfordshire. The alleged victim, who claimed to have barely any memory of the incident, woke at 10am the following morning to discover he was miles away from the capital.

The defendant denies wrongdoing, saying the sexual activity with both men was consensual. He claimed to have met the second man as he stopped at a cash point. The man wanted to carry on partying, da Silva Neto claimed, and joined him in the car of his own volition.

Da Silva Neto, of Riverlight Quay, Wandsworth, denies administering a substance with intent and engaging in sexual activity without consent with two men. He is accused of the rape and kidnap of the second man, against whom he is accused of committing an offence with intent to commit a sexual offence.

The trial continues.

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This story was written by Tom Seaward. He joined the team in 2021 as Oxfordshire's court and crime reporter.  

To get in touch with him email: Tom.Seaward@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @t_seaward