A COURT has heard that a Slough resident was arrested and spent the night in a police station after being 'falsely' accused of sexual assault by another man.

Ranjit Singh, 42, of no fixed abode, stands charged with perverting the course of justice.

He denies the accusation.

Opening the trial at Reading Crown Court today (February 7), prosecuting barrister Ryan Brennan said Mr Singh - formerly known as Ranjit Dhaliwal - called 999 on the evening of February 2, 2021.

The defendant told police that, while he had been urinating in an alleyway near the Jobcentre on Slough high street, a man had sexually assaulted him.

Both Mr Singh and the alleged assailant headed in the same direction towards Slough police station.

There, officers came out and surprised the other man by arresting him on the spot.

The man testified in court that he had not known Mr Singh prior to the incident, and that he had apparently been picked out and accused at random.

Quizzed by Mr Brennan on the allegation that he abused Mr Singh, the man said: "That's unbearable. I definitely did not do that."

The prosecutor told the jury that CCTV evidence revealed the 'assailant' had not been anywhere near the alleyway where Mr Singh claimed he was assaulted.

Despite this, the defendant has always maintained that the attack took place the way he described.

The trial continues.