Woman weeps as she recalls alleged rape

Landmark damages bid over alleged St Andrews incident

A woman who is suing the man she claims raped her, in a landmark legal action, wept in court as she recalled the alleged attack.

The female, who can only be identified as Miss M, said she was sexually assaulted after returning home from a night out in September 2013 while she was a student at St Andrews University.

She told Edinburgh Sheriff Court she had spent the evening drinking at a student party before going to a nightclub.

Miss M told the court that during the evening she drank four cans of cider, a bottle of rose wine, a bottle of champagne and three glasses of sparkling wine which were mixed with vodka.

She told Sheriff Robert Weir QC that she awoke in her bed to find a man she didn’t know having sex with her.

She said the man still continued to have sex with her when she was crying.

Miss M also told the court that the man forced her to perform a sex act on him and that he only stopped when he noticed blood on her bed.

Miss M was giving evidence on the first day of an action she has brought to court against Stephen Coxen, 23, from Bury, Lancashire.

She has taken Mr Coxen to court to seek damages from him as a consequence of what happened in the High Court two years ago.

Mr Coxen stood trial on charges of raping the woman but walked free after jurors in the case returned a not-proven verdict.

In a legal first after an unsuccessful rape prosecution in Scotland, the woman has mounted an action through the civil courts seeking almost £100,000 in damages and financial losses.

Miss M accuses Coxen of raping her and injuring her tongue and has been granted funding to cover her costs by the Scottish Legal Aid Board.

The woman said she had problems recollecting what happened after going to the club.

She said the next thing she could remember was being outside her house.

The woman told the court that she thought she was with a male friend. But she said she realised that she didn’t know who the man was.

The woman said she repeatedly buzzed the door entry to her home and she said she hoped her flat mates would let her in.

But she said her flatmates didn’t answer.

The woman told the court that she dropped the keys to her property in the street. Miss M said the person she was with took the keys.

She added: “My hand was pushed out of the way and the person picked up the keys. I was quite afraid.”

The woman then told the court that the next thing she remembers was that a man was having sex with her.

She said: “I tried to push on his chest. But I couldn’t do anything.”

The woman said the man then put his hand on her face and started squeezing. She said she felt “so scared” at this point. Mr Coxen contests the action. The hearing continues.