A 'MANIPULATIVE' man accused of raping two women was said to have told one alleged victim the case would be 'laughed out of court', a jury heard.

Daniel Jones, of Hancocks Lane, Welland, near Malvern denies two counts of rape, each said to have been committed against a different woman he communicated with over the internet about shared sexual fantasies, including rape, using the social media platform Whisper.

The trial of the 27-year-old began at Worcester Crown Court on Tuesday.

He has pleaded not guilty to one alleged rape, said to have taken place against a married woman at her Norfolk home in April last year and a second, alleged to have been committed against a second woman, at his own home while he was on bail in January this year.

Officers attended his address in January because of an alert which showed the battery on his electronic tag was running low. The second complainant was in his home when the police arrived.

During her opening, Caroline Goodwin QC, prosecuting, told a jury that Jones had told the second rape complainant he was already being investigated for rape, picking her up from Weston-super-Mare.

Miss Goodwin said: "He told her he was on a tag being investigated for rape, the allegation we know about. He said it would be laughed out of court because she had consensual sex with him after the rape allegation."

The jury has now heard from both complainants in the case with the prosecution case set to finish on Monday.

Jones was said to have met both women online using anonymous social media platform Whisper and to have discussed with them shared sexual fantasies, including rape. His interests were described by the Crown as involving 'domination' and 'strangulation'.

The second complainant, described as 'vulnerable' by the Crown, was picked up by the defendant in his car from her home in Weston-super-Mare in January and taken to his cottage. She was later to tell police officers 'he liked weird things'.

Miss Goodwin described Jones in her opening as 'overbearing and controlling' and 'sexually selfish, jealous and possessive' and also 'manipulative'.

Miss Goodwin said in her opening of the first alleged rape in Norfolk: "He affected to ask her to tell him the safe word. She had not discussed a safe word with him."

The prosecutor said: "It was rape - here, now, for real. She said 'I don't remember the safe word. I don't remember. I don't remember'. Then he said 'the safe word is safe word'. She said 'safe word' then he stopped. It was too late."

Miss Goodwin added: "He came back into the room and said 'sorry', he thought that had been roleplay. The Crown does not accept that explanation."

When speaking to the police the first complainant 'said very clearly that she could not understand how he could possibly have got the impression this was roleplay'.

The complainant also described how Jones grabbed a knife and cut himself four times which the Crown say was an 'attempt to turn focus away from what he had done'.

"Suddenly he became the victim and he knew, say the Crown, exactly what he was doing" said Miss Goodwin. The complainant had described Jones 'lying on the floor crying and being quite emotional'.

The trial continues.