Jury told of alleged victim’s rape texts from pal
Rugby stars on trial Messages sent days before student claims she was sexually assaulted by players are read out in court
A WITNESS in the trial of two Ulster rugby players accused of rape texted the alleged victim to say she would “blackmail” an attacker if she was ever sexually assaulted, a court has heard.
The “joke” text was sent less than two weeks before the complainant says she was raped by rugby players Paddy Jackson (26) and Stuart Olding (24).
Both men deny the charges.
A WITNESS in the trial of two Ulster rugby players texted the woman at the centre of the case to say she would “blackmail” her attacker if she was ever raped — less than two weeks before the complainant says she was raped, a court has heard.
In a series of text messages, the woman, who had known the complainant seven years before the alleged incident, said “if I ever get raped I am not going to the police”, adding she would “deal with” the man herself.
She wrote: “You’ve just got to find a way to blackmail or stab them or something.”
Ulster and Ireland rugby players Paddy Jackson (26) and Stuart Olding (24) deny raping a woman in June 2016.
Jackson denies a further charge of sexual assault.
Giving evidence for a second day the witness said her texts were “obviously not serious” and were written for “humour purposes”.
Belfast Crown Court heard how the friends had exchanged a series of messages about rape on June 15, 2016 — 12 days before the complainant alleges Jackson and Olding attacked her.
Jackson’s barrister Brendan Kelly QC told the jury how the alleged victim quoted rape statistics, telling the witness that “nine out of 10 rapes in the UK go unreported”.
In a text, the witness replied: “I have heard of loads of people being raped. It’s scary.”
When asked by Mr Kelly to clarify her remarks, the witness said: “I guess it’s for the same reason as what’s happening in this room right now.
“It’s quite horrible, it’s daunting, you get blamed.
“It’s a distressing process.” On the reference to “blackmail”, she said: “That was quite clearly a joke.”
The jury of nine men and three women also heard how the complainant, after the alleged incident on June 27, 2016, said in a text that she wanted to speak to someone “legally” about the matter.
Her friend said: “Statistics generally are not in your favour and I presumed she was going to speak to someone about that”, adding: “I think she wanted to get actual legal advice.”
However, she said, she was not sure what, if anything, was discussed.
The witness, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the alleged victim, told the court she believed her friend had been honest with her.
Asked whether the pair had ever discussed the importance of telling the truth in reporting the incident to authorities, she replied: “Because she had told me this the truth wasn’t something I was concerned about. I assumed she was telling the truth. She wouldn’t lie to me.”
The woman was also taken through CCTV footage which showed the friends in the VIP area of Ollie’s nightclub on the night of June 27, 2016, before leaving separately.
Mr Kelly also highlighted a moment in the footage towards the end of the night which appeared to show the complainant touching the arm of Northern Ireland footballer Will Grigg, who was also in the club that night, before he was seen “pulling his arm away”.
Mr Kelly said the footballer had to pull his arm away to “dislodge her” and asked if that was “normal behaviour” for her friend.
“The witness answered: “Not that I would have ever picked up on really.” Meanwhile, the woman was also questioned by Frank O’Donoghue QC, representing Stuart Olding. When Mr O’Donoghue said there was also no mention that someone walked into the room during the alleged attack, the woman answered: “I remember she said that in trauma your memory could be patchy and could come back later.”
Another friend told the court of the woman’s initial reluctance to go to the police, but said that after breaking down during a trip to the cinema to take her mind off what she claims had happened, she decided to tell the police to stop it happening to someone else.
The witness said: “She realised it was not right for it not to be reported because she did not want something like this to happen to anyone else.”
The woman also told the court how she had driven the complainant to the sexual assault referral centre The Rowan the night after the alleged attack, and also to report the incident to the police the night after their failed trip to the cinema.
She said while she had not seen any physical injuries on her friend, she believed some had been sustained because on the first journey in her car “she was very uncomfortable, sitting gingerly”.
A third friend told the court of her reaction to the complainant’s initial concerns about taking on “Ulster Rugby”.
In a text the friend said: “Pretend you don’t know they are from Ulster Rugby.
“Pretend you’d never seen them before.”
Explaining her message to the jury, the witness said: “The meaning behind that was it doesn’t matter what someone’s profession is. Rape is rape.”
She added: “I would never have told my friend to lie. Never.”
Also charged in connection with the case are 26-year-old Blane McIlroy, who faces one charge of exposure and Rory Harrison (25) who is charged with perverting the course of justice and withholding information. Both deny the charges.
The trial continues.
I remember she said that in trauma your memory could be patchy and could come back later