Woman claims she was raped by man after watching boxing fight
A WOMAN claimed she was raped by a man she met online after watching a Conor McGregor fight.
The 31- year- old stated that she was attacked by Christopher Harkins, 37, at his mother’s home in Glasgow’s Newlands on September 23, 2018.
The woman told a jury that she had earlier watched the MMA bout with Harkins and his family before they went to bed.
She stated that Harkins got closer to her despite her being uninterested in sex and “did it anyway.”
The woman also recalled being recorded without consent having sex with “persistent” Harkins at his home in Cumbernauld.
Harkins is on trial at the High Court in Paisley where he faces three rape allegations against the woman.
Harkins, of Helensburgh, is further accused of sexual offences against her and another woman.
Harkins is also stated to have assaulted another woman to the danger of her life and allegedly assaulted a fourth woman.
The total of 18 charges span between January 2013 and May 2019.
The court heard that Harkins met the woman on dating app Tinder in August 2018.
The woman recalled going to bed with Harkins at his mother’s house after watching a Conor McGregor fight in the early hours of the morning.
She said: “I remember him getting closer to me and he tried to start having sex with me and I wasn’t interested.
“The more I resisted or showed my lack of interest, the more interested he became. He started to do it anyway.”
She stated that she did not want to have sex with Harkins at his mother’s house.
The woman claimed she was “angry and upset” at the situation.
The woman recalled another incident when she “gave in” to having sex with “persistent” Harkins at his home in Cumbernauld.
She told the court that she noticed Harkins filming them with a phone and told him to stop.
Prosecutor Scott McKenzie asked the witness what she was like when she saw the phone.
She replied: “I was angry. He was aware that I didn’t want to be filmed.”
Mr McKenzie asked: “Did you consent to him filming you?” The woman said: “No.” Mr McKenzie asked: “How did you feel?”
The woman said: “Awful. He was saying things like, ‘ Imagine your dad saw that.’
“I didn’t show emotion towards it.”
The woman stated that she asked Harkins to delete the video and was allegedly sent a screenshot of it.
The court heard from another woman who said that Harkins added her on Facebook in April 2015.
She stated that she was “vulnerable” at the time as she had recently finished a relationship and was “quite naive.”
The pair began a relationship but the woman claimed that Harkins “changed” towards her.
She said: “He would make remarks about my appearance, lip stick colour and nail polish.
“He would make comments about things I posted online and Instagram.”
The woman added that Harkins had a “real issue” with nail polish and lipstick.
She said: “One night before I was due to work, I was putting nail polish on to match my dress and he kicked my leg.
“He kicked it out my hand and it went over the sofa – I was upset by that for obvious reasons.”
The woman further claimed that she was “manipulated” by Harkins, who was also “controlling” and violent.
Mr McKenzie asked the witness how Harkins was violent towards her.
She replied: “He would throw me to the floor, the other occasion he grabbed my face tightly and pulled me towards him.
“He pulled my hair on more than one occasion and on another he put his hand around my neck and held it – I couldn’t move.”
The woman claimed that Harkins pinned her on the bed with his hand around her neck to the point she could not breath.
She said: “I thought this is it, this is awful, this is how I’m going to die.”
Mr McKenzie asked the woman how she reacted after the incident and she said: “I was in total shock – no one had done anything like that before.
“It was a surreal moment that I really had to get out of the relationship.”
She initially contacted the police at the end of 2015 and no action was taken but officers visited her in 2020 when a statement given.
Mr Meehan put it to the witness that there were arguments between her and Harkins but there was no violence from him.
She replied: “That’s incorrect, there was violence.”
Mr Meehan said: “There were no threats.”
The woman said: “Incorrect, there were plenty of threats.”
The trial continues before Judge Alistair Watson.