Woman Rejects Consent Claim in Michael Ward Trial Over 2 Rape Charges
Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Jul 3
Woman Rejects Consent Claim in Michael Ward Trial Over 2 Rape Charges
3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Jul 3
Summary
At Michael Ward’s London trial, the complainant told jurors the January 2023 encounter in a car was not consensual, replying to the defense: “No, Michael raped me.”
The woman said she “completely shut down,” did not say no, and asked to leave on multiple occasions, adding she would never have entered the car if she had understood the situation.
A friend testified the woman was crying and seemed “off” when she got home, and the court heard she ordered an STI kit on the way back and marked that she may have been sexually assaulted.
Ward, 28, denies 2 rape charges and 3 sexual assault counts, telling police after his 18 January 2023 arrest that the pair had consensual foreplay and sex.