A man is to be sentenced later this month for sexual assault after a judge refused to allow him to change his plea to not guilty.

David White, 34, was said to have admitted the offence against a woman, alleged to have taken place on October 11, last year, on the day he appeared for trial at Durham Crown Court, in January.

Having failed to appear at subsequent hearings and been re-arrested following the execution of bench warrants, White has been remanded in custody in recent weeks.

But he told a previous hearing he wanted to now plead not guilty, disputing that he admitted the offence on the day of his scheduled trial in January.

(Image: The Northern Echo)

The case came back before the court today (Monday, August 5) when Judge Nathan Adams told White that the court recording for the hearing has not been recovered as the case switched courts shortly before being called on.

But Judge Adams said all the recorded logs for the January hearing, including that of the judge, indicate the defendant pleaded guilty and the trial, therefore, did not proceed.

(Image: The Northern Echo)

The judge told White, who is now representing himself in the case, that he failed to comply with three requests to make a formal written application seeking to vacate his plea.

Judge Adams told him: “The trial didn’t proceed and there’s simply no realistic way the events in January could have panned out as they did.

“I’m entirely satisfied that the purported application (to vacate plea) is fanciful.”

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Judge Adams, therefore, barred the defendant from further applying to vacate his plea.

“The guilty plea will now stand and this long-running case now needs to be put to bed.”

He said he would re-list it for sentence on August 27 and remanded the defendant, of Witton Tower Gardens, Witton-le-Wear, in custody in the meantime.