A former University Challenge contestant whose elaborate name brought him popularity on social media has been charged with rape. Bartholomew Cuthbert Joly de Lotbiniere, a history graduate from York University, will go on trial in February for charges relating to rape, two sexual assaults and an attempted sexual assault on one alleged victim in June 2014. The 21-year-old appeared at York crown court on Thursday and denied the charges.
Joly de Lotbiniere’s team reached the semi-final of this year’s University Challenge, the BBC2 quiz show hosted by Jeremy Paxman, before being knocked out by Peterhouse college, Cambridge, in February. After his appearance, his unusually long name triggered a flurry of humorous posts on social media.
Joly de Lotbiniere attended the Roman Catholic Cardinal Vaughan Memorial school in Holland Park, London before going to York University, where he was editor-in-chief of York Vision newspaper.
