A HEREFORD man has been sent to the crown court accused of rape and controlling and coercive behaviour.

Jason Lea appeared before Hereford magistrates accused of three charges.

The court heard he is accused of raping a woman aged over 16 in Herefordshire on March 1, 2008 and February 28, 2010, and raping a woman aged over 16 on June 18, 2020, in Herefordshire.

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The 33-year-old is further accused of engaging in coercive and controlling behaviour towards another person between December 2015 and June 2020 by constantly checking messages, isolating them from family and friends, asking them to return home when visiting family and friends, tracking them using an app, monitoring their activity on social media, criticising their clothes for being too short or revealing, and destroying their birth control pills.

The case was sent to Worcester Crown Court, where Lea, of Whitefriars Road, Hereford, will appear for a plea and case management hearing on August 31.

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