JURY members in the trial of a man accused of attacking four women heard of a pattern of “hallmarks” which ran through the offences.

Michael Glyn Thomas, 44, of Dolau-Ys-Coed, Fforest Coalpit, denies seven counts of rape on three women, three counts of attempted rape, three of indecent assault, and two of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He also faces two charges of false imprisonment, making threats to kill and sexual assault.

The offences, which involved four different women, are alleged to have taken place between August 31, 1986 and December 28, 2007.

In her closing statement, prosecutor Elwen Evans QC told the court significant similarities lay in the evidence given by each of the four alleged victims.

Ms Evans said there is “a pattern from beginning to end” relating to the circumstances of the attacks, the defendant’s behaviour while committing the offences and the detail and nature of the allegations.

She said: “Each situation is different, but in this case you have the similarities, which we say show you the hallmarks of this defendant, the pattern of behaviour, the way of manipulating the women. The differences in the different women’s accounts are the hallmarks of the truth.”

All four women who gave evidence told the court of a change in Thomas’s expression during the attacks, where his eyes went black.

She said: “When there is a rejection, the eyes change, the person changes and the Jekyll and Hyde effect comes in.”

Ms Evans said all four women described how in the aftermath of the attacks Thomas apologised, cried and threatened to kill himself.

The jury heard during the first alleged attack in 1986, Thomas attempted to rape the woman, but by the time of the last alleged incident in December 2007, it was “a very protracted attack across a considerable amount of time.”