James Clacher trial: Rape suspect accused of telling 'lie upon lie' and staging death as 'the net was tightening'
James Clacher, 57, has denied raping two women and has lodged a special defence at his trial at the High Court in Glasgow, claiming any sex was consensual.
Tuesday 2 September 2025 19:27, UK
A rape suspect who staged his own death has been accused of telling "lie upon lie" and fled the country as "the net was tightening", a court has heard.
James Clacher, 57, is on trial accused of raping two women - one in Troon, South Ayrshire, in 2019 and the other in Glasgow in 2020.
Clacher has pleaded not guilty and has lodged a special defence, claiming any sex was consensual.
The former gym boss took to the stand during his trial at the High Court in Glasgow on Tuesday.
Jurors earlier heard how he faked his death in May 2022 and fled the UK for Spain while facing court proceedings for the two rape charges.
Clacher disappeared on the day he was due to be questioned by police over two new sexual offence allegations in addition to the rape charges.
He was arrested two years later in the Costa del Sol town of Nerja and extradited back to Scotland.
Testifying, Clacher claimed he decided to flee as his mental health had deteriorated due to the allegations he was facing.
Describing himself as someone who had "always loved life", he said: "I didn't like what I was seeing in myself."
The court heard that the 2019 accuser had posted messages on Facebook and contacted Clacher's family and friends, accusing him of being a "rapist" and them of "supporting a rapist".
He said: "It destroyed my family."
Clacher claimed he decided to stage his death to take him "out of the picture" so that his family could "rebuild their life".
Advocate depute Catriona MacLeod accused Clacher of lying.
She claimed his mental health had nothing to do with his disappearance, which she argued was instead prompted by two more women coming forward with accusations.
Ms MacLeod stated: "The net was tightening."
Read more from the trial:
Day one testimony
Day two testimony
Day three testimony
Day four testimony
Giving evidence last week, the 2019 complainant told jurors of how she was allegedly raped in her own home within 15 minutes of meeting Clacher for the first time.
The woman said moments after telling her Tinder date to "make himself comfortable" while she finished getting ready for their night out, she was reportedly pushed against a wall and brutally assaulted.
She then claimed she was further abused after being led upstairs while in a state of "shock".
Clacher refuted the woman's narrative of events, stating: "I would never have grabbed anybody. It's not in my DNA."
The defendant claimed the alleged victim was dressed in a "short black negligee and crotchless pants" when he arrived for their date.
Clacher said: "It didn't look like a going out dress."
He said the pair engaged in consensual kissing and cuddling in the kitchen, but no sexual activity took place.
Clacher stated: "There was no crying and no shaking in the kitchen."
The defendant claimed the woman offered to show him around her house and once in the bedroom, the pair had "normal sex" and reportedly at no point did she object to what he was doing.
Clacher claimed the woman took poppers, but he declined the offer of the so-called party drug.
The defendant said that during consensual sex, the alleged victim's eyes started to "roll back into her head".
Clacher said he got a fright and panicked, adding: "I was scared, so I stopped."
The accused admitted that he lied to the woman that his brother had suffered a heart attack, explaining that he "would have said anything" to get out of her house.
The court previously heard how the woman and Clacher met multiple times following the alleged attack.
Jurors also heard a recorded phone call between the pair, where she confronted him about his alleged behaviour. At no point were poppers mentioned.
He told the woman: "I apologise from the bottom of my heart."
When asked why he apologised, Clacher claimed he knew he was being recorded and was "trying to make sense" of why the woman was "distressed and hurt".
He also admitted that he was trying to "navigate a way so as not to destroy my whole life".
The pair were said to have remained in touch until around May 2020, which Ms MacLeod implied was Clacher's way of ensuring she did not go to the police with her allegation.
He disagreed when the prosecutor stated: "If she was falsely accusing you of rape, you simply wouldn't want to be friends."
Clacher further denied raping a second woman at her flat in Glasgow in September 2020.
The pair, who had matched on dating app Bumble, collected a takeaway from Nando's before Clacher drove them to Irvine Beach in Ayrshire, where they ate in the car, talked, and took a walk.
They then returned to the woman's house to watch a movie, where she claims she was assaulted.
Giving evidence, the alleged victim said she consented to "kissing and hugging" during their date but did not consent to any other sexual activity.
Clacher refuted the woman's narrative and claimed sexual activity took place in her apartment before the pair left for dinner.
On their return to the flat, he claimed the woman gave him a "lap dance" before further sexual activity and consensual sex took place.
Jurors also previously heard allegations from two other women that Clacher inappropriately touched them without their consent at Church Gym Wellness and Fitness Centre in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire.
He denied both allegations, claiming: "I don't remember exactly these two people."
One woman, who was 15 or 16 years old when she joined the gym in 2018, said Clacher would often "hug" her and "hang about" when she went to work out.
Clacher stated: "I would have shown her no more attention than anyone in the gym at the time."
He denied telling her to remove her leggings while taking body measurements in his office and refuted her claim that he touched her inappropriately during a sports massage.
The woman also alleged that during a chest and shoulder press workout, Clacher approached her from behind and touched her chest while reportedly saying: "Your boobs are going to get perkier if you keep doing that."
Clacher denied the accusation, stating: "Even if the gym was completely empty, I would be risking my entire reputation."
The accused also refuted a second woman's claim that he was "very touchy-feely" at the gym.
That woman claimed he touched her inappropriately while giving her a sports massage in his office.
Clacher denied this and claimed sports massages did not take place in his office as it was too small, with any stretching taking place in the main gym hall.
Be the first to get Breaking News
Install the Paste BN app for free
Ms MacLeod highlighted how Clacher had initially lied about his surname when he met the first accuser, lied about his age on dating apps, and lied about his brother dying.
Jurors heard how Clacher's sibling did struggle with health issues and later died, but not at the time the accused claimed.
Clacher said he lied about his age on Tinder and Bumble - knocking around 10 years off - as he believed people his own age were not as "active" as him.
Ms MacLeod stated: "You told lie upon lie, so many lies. What are you not lying about?"
She added: "I suggest you are lying now."
The trial, before judge Lord Cubie, continues.