Superdry Cofounder Receives 8 Year Prison Sentence for Rape Charge

British Fashion Brand Cofounder Sentenced to Eight Years in Prison for Rape

James Holder, the 54-year-old cofounder of the British fashion brand Superdry, was sentenced to eight years in prison on Thursday for raping a woman following a night of drinking. The sentencing took place at Bristol Crown Court in the west of England.

Holder was found guilty by a jury in Gloucester Crown Court last week of one count of rape, but acquitted of a separate charge of assault by penetration in the May 2022 assault. The accuser testified that Holder got in her taxi and entered her home uninvited after they had been at a bar in Cheltenham. She stated that he assaulted her after he awoke from a short nap, and that she cried as he continued despite her pleas to stop.

Holder, a married father of two, denied the charges, claiming that all sexual activity had been consensual. However, Judge David Chidgey described the offense as "a despicable piece of sexual violence." The judge emphasized that Holder's actions were motivated by a sense of entitlement, and a disregard for the victim's right to control her own body.

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During the sentencing, Holder appeared via video link from Hewell prison, wearing a grey sweatshirt and jogging pants. He did not react as the sentence was passed.