A Welshpool man accused of two further rape offences will face a single crown court trial later this year after a judge agreed to combine the latest allegations with an existing sexual offences case.
Drew Griffiths, 31, appeared before Mold Crown Court on Friday, August 14, for a plea and trial preparation hearing before Recorder Robin Rouch.
Griffiths, of Croft Road, denied two counts of rape relating to allegations involving a woman in Welshpool between August and October 2024.
He entered not guilty pleas to both counts.
Crown seeks to combine cases
During the hearing, prosecutor Joshua Gorst told the court Griffiths was already due to stand trial in December in relation to separate allegations involving other complainants.
The existing indictment contains two counts of rape in 2021 and one count of sexual assault in 2023.
Griffiths has denied all allegations.
Mr Gorst said the crown had applied for the latest allegations to be joined to the existing case due to the nature of the charges.
Defence barrister Philip Clemo raised no objection to the application.
Recorder Robin Rouch ordered that the new indictment be joined with the existing proceedings.
Trial set for December
The combined case is due to be heard at Mold Crown Court on December 14.
The judge told Griffiths the December trial date would remain in place and would now include the newly added allegations.
A further hearing is scheduled for November 4, when the defence must submit a detailed defence case statement.
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Griffiths was granted conditional bail pending trial.
The court imposed additional conditions, including a prohibition on contacting the latest complainant directly or referring to her on social media.
As proceedings remain active, the complainants are entitled to lifelong anonymity.
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