A man accused of raping and robbing a sex worker in a Plymouth city centre hotel has taken to the witness box to give evidence in his defence. The jury have been told that Wojnarowski has pleaded guilty to the count of false imprisonment. In answer to a series of questions from his barrister Michael Green, Wojnarowski, aged 39, explained that he was Polish and had come to the UK in October , initially carrying out seasonal work picking cauliflowers and cabbages.
He had been a permanent resident for eight years and now lived in a caravan near Truro. He had been married but was now separated from his wife for the last four years, resulting in him moving into the rented caravan. He explained that he had sold a house in Poland and every so often his sister would send some of the proceeds to him via wire transfer. He said this was done because if you hold over a certain amount in a Polish bank you have to pay tax on it.
Asked about his communications with Columbia, he confirmed he had gone there on holiday after making friends with people from there, adding that he occasionally sent them money to help them out, such as to help one of his friends' sons buy a bicycle. He also admitted he and one woman he got to know was "always joking" and asking him to "strip off", which he had done and sent images of him naked.
Wojnarowski said he used escorts for the past two years primarily via the one website - where he had spotted the advert of the woman he is accused of raping. He said he used such escorts "about twice a month" in places like "Truro, Redruth, Newquay, Plymouth". He told the jury that while the adverts had ticks next to what the escorts would or would not offer, you could negotiate with them and pay for "extras".
He also confirmed to his barrister that the man who was seen entering and leaving the hotel on Thursday October 27 - the day of the alleged rape - was in fact him. He said he had a number of black and red gloves, around 10 to 15 pairs, due to his job and a rubber mask was found in the boot of his car as it was for a Halloween event in Helston later that week. He insisted he only had one glove on while having sex with the woman - who spoke very little English and primarily conversed in Spanish - due to having a broken little finger on his left hand which was held in place with a splint and tape.
