A BRYNMAWR man has been convicted of raping and sexually assaulting a woman.

Sebastian Smith, 26, was on trial at Cardiff Crown Court, where he denied the charges against him and claimed he had stopped sexual activity with his victim when she asked him to.

It took the 12-strong jury 55 minutes to reach their guilty verdicts, convicting him of one count of rape and one count of sexual assault by penetration.

Both offences took place on the same day at Smith's home in July 2020, while he and his victim watched a film on his bed.

Smith claimed the two had been play-fighting and kissing, and Jenny Yeo, defending, argued the complainant “made him believe she’d be a willing participant in a sexual encounter”.

But John Ryan, prosecuting, told the jury Smith's victim had "no reason to lie" about what had happened, while the defendant wanted "to get himself out of trouble".

He told the court Smith had sent messages to his victim after the incident, telling her "that he was sorry... [and] not to go to the police".

Smith, of George Street, Brynmawr, has no previous convictions, and Judge David Wynn Morgan adjourned sentencing so the Probation Service could prepare a pre-sentence report.

Smith was remanded into custody and will be sentenced on July 15.