CRICKETER Alex Hepburn has been found guilty of raping a woman in a sexual conquest "game" that had been set up with friends on WhatsApp.

Hepburn attacked the woman in a dark bedroom after she had consensual sex with one of his team-mates, Joe Clarke, following a night out

Who is Alex Hepburn?

Australian Alex Hepburn is an all-rounder cricketer.

He plays for Worcestershire County Cricket Club.

The 23-year-old was born on December 21, 1995, in Subiaco, Australia.

Is Alex Hepburn going to prison for rape

Judge Jim Tindal told the cricketer, who was aged 21 at the time of the rape that prison was "inevitable".

"I am adjourning your case for the preparation of a pre-sentence report. But it would not be a kindness to you to leave you under any false impression as to the purpose of that report.

"There is only one sentence that can properly be handed down in this case, and a custodial sentence is inevitable.

Hepburn, of Portland Street, Worcester, had denied two counts of rape, claiming the alleged victim was awake and that initial kissing led to consensual sexual contact.

Jurors deliberated for 10 hours and 53 minutes before delivering a unanimous verdict of guilty on one count of oral rape.

He was cleared  was cleared of another count of rape and will be sentenced at Hereford Crown Court on April 30.

Jurors heard the victim initially believed she was still in bed with Mr Clarke, who had left the room to be sick, after waking up to find Hepburn performing a sex act on her.

Opening the prosecution's case, Miranda Moore QC said the alleged victim realised she was not with Mr Clarke when she touched Hepburn's hair and he then spoke in an Australian accent.

The prosecutor told Worcester Crown Court a member of the public dialled 999 in the early hours after finding the complainant "distressed and crying" in the street in April 2017.

Ms Moore said the woman had sex with Hepburn because she believed he was "the man she fell asleep with" and was left horrified when she realised he was not Mr Clarke.

Worcester Crown Court heard that a couple of days before the attack, Hepburn, Mr Clarke and another friend known only as Tom, set up the WhatsApp group called 'Stat Chat'.

Members would reveal details of all their sexual encounters with girls known as "freshies or re heats" and rate them based on their performances in bed.

In the group the pals would shamelessly joke about "dragging the birds back" and "raping them" and bragged about getting tested for STIs in the summer.

After taking the jury through "rules" posted on the group days before the alleged rape, Ms Moore told the court: "From the prosecution point of view it may well be that what was on this defendant's phone will help you in deciding what he was up to that night.

"It detailed the game that these young men engaged in and intended to follow.

"This game had precious little to do with cricket."

The extent of Hepburn's depravity were revealed in the WhatsApp sex game messages cops found on his phone which were not aired at either of his trials.

Is he still with his girlfriend?

The cricketer has been pictured arriving at court every day with girlfriend Lucy Street.

She is reportedly a graphic design student at Nottingham Trent University and has been with Hepburn for around 17 months.

What has his best friend Joe Clarke said

The victim had consensual sex with Clarke, who she had met in a nightclub.

He said that he later left the bedroom and went to be sick in a bathroom, after drinking vodka.

"I didn't want to be sick in front of her," the 22-year-old told the court.

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