Cofounder of British fashion brand Superdry sentenced to 8 years in prison for rape

Co-founder of clothing firm Superdry James Holder, is escorted by a police officer as he leaves Cirencester Magistrates' Court, England, Friday, May 1 , 2026. (Rod Minchin/PA via AP)

Warning: Graphic content

LONDON — The cofounder of the British fashion brand Superdry was sentenced Thursday to eight years in prison for raping a woman following a night of drinking.

James Holder, 54, was found guilty by a jury in Gloucester Crown Court in the west of England last week of one count of rape but acquitted of a separate charge of assault by penetration in the May 2022 assault.

The accuser said Holder got in her taxi and entered her home uninvited after they had been at a bar in Cheltenham. She said he assaulted her after he awoke from a short nap. She testified that she cried as he carried on despite her pleas to stop.

Holder, a married father of two, denied the charges, and said all sexual activity had been consensual.

Judge David Chidgey, sitting at Bristol Crown Court in the west of England, described the offense as “a despicable piece of sexual violence.”

“It was about entitlement, it was about your sense of entitlement and your sense of doing what you wanted and your causal disregard for the victim’s absolute right to say what she wanted to do with her own body,” he said.

Holder, who appeared via video link from Hewell prison wearing a grey sweatshirt and jogging pants, did not react as the sentence was passed.

The Associated Press

Canadian sexual assault resources

If you or someone you know is struggling with sexual assault or trauma, the following resources are available to support people in crisis:

• Call 911 if you are in immediate danger or fear for your safety.
• The Canadian Association of Sexual Assault Centres' website has a comprehensive list of sexual assault centres in Canada that offer information, advocacy and counselling. 
• The Ending Violence Association of Canada‘s website has links to helplines, support services and locations across Canada that offer sexual assault kits.
• Indian Residential School Survivors Society crisis lines: [phone] or [phone] (24/7)
• Toronto Rape Crisis Centre crisis line: [phone] (24/7)
• Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline: [phone] (24/7)
• Trans Lifeline: [phone]
• Suicide Crisis Helpline: call or text 988 (24/7)
• Sexual Misconduct Support and Resource Centre for current and former Canadian Armed Forces members: [phone]
• Read about your rights as a victim on the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime website.