A heavyweight boxer who denied raping and strangling a woman has now admitted he did it, three days into a jury trial.
Mark Dennis, 34, of Culpepper Close, Park South, Swindon was charged with four counts of rape, two counts of sexual assault and intentional strangulation.
The rapes were alleged to have taken place in Swindon on multiple occasions between May 2024 and July 2025, and the two sexual assault charges related to the same period.
The Swindon boxer initially denied all of the charges against him, and a jury was sworn in for the start of his Swindon Crown Court trial on Monday, October 12.
Prosecutors warned the trial could have lasted up to two weeks, but only three days in, Dennis admitted to raping a woman on April 4, 2025, and intentionally strangling a woman on September 26, 2024.
The trial has been called off and will proceed to sentencing.
Dennis continues to deny the other five charges against him (three more charges of rape and two sexual assault charges), but Swindon Crown Court is not continuing with the trial as the outcome would not make a significant enough difference to Dennis's sentence.
Mark Dennis will next appear in Swindon Crown Court on December 7, when he will be sentenced for rape and intentional strangulation.
Until that time, the boxer will remain in custody. The Crown states this is due to the nature and seriousness of his charges and his previous criminal record.
This is not the first time the Swindon heavyweight boxer has been in court.
On June 25, 2025, a non-molestation order was made at Swindon Magistrates' Court following numerous complaints of abuse and harassment made by a woman.
In August 2025, he was then sentenced after breaching the order made to protect a woman.
The pair were in The Merlin pub when she asked bar staff to phone police, stating Dennis had taken her phone and to tell them she was with Mark Dennis.
Nine days later, police issued an appeal asking the public to help find him. He was found hidden inside the property.
On November 7, 2024, he had also been handed a 16-week prison sentence suspended for 18 months for a battery offence, along with 175 hours of unpaid work, 42 rehabilitation activity days, 41 days on an accredited programme and 120 days of alcohol abstinence monitoring.
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