Alleged victim gives evidence in rape trial

Wednesday 30 August 2017

A 25-year-old woman who says she was raped and indecently assaulted by a 32-year-old man in December 2015 after attending a party in his flat has been telling a Royal Court trial her version of events.

Wayne Mark Highfield is facing three counts of indecent assault and one count of rape. He is pleading not guilty to all charges.

It is alleged that Mr Highfield raped and indecently assaulted a 25-year-old woman in the early hours of 28 December 2015. They had never met before until she attended a party in his flat with one of her friends, who knew the defendant's friends. 

The alleged victim was the first witness to be called by Crown Advocate Simon Thomas for the prosecution. She told the court that on the night of the alleged incident she was drunk but not "in a state." She remembers what happened, as well as the conversations she was able to have with the other men present at the party, although vaguely. 

She explained that before going to Mr Highfield's flat, she caught up with a friend at the Royal Yacht and then went to Kasbar with another friend. She said: "As a married woman with a child I am allowed to go out and enjoy my evening. I don’t go out ridiculously often so I thought it would be nice to feel like it was before I had my child."

She said that there was a pleasant atmosphere in the flat when she arrived and that she talked with everyone in the room, including the defendant. They had a generic conversation, similar to the one one would have when meeting somebody for the first time. She added she felt he was being slightly flirtatious but she told him she was married and had a child and assumed he would know the boundaries.

As the conversation drew to a close, she asked the two men in the room if there was a bed she could sleep in for a couple of hours, not knowing whose flat she was in. Mr Highfield replied and indicated where the bedroom was, adding that he would be going to bed shortly. She told him jokingly not to try anything. 

She explained: "It made sense at the time. i knew it was the early hours of the morning and my child would be awake when I came back. I knew I wouldn’t get the chance to sleep so thought it was a good idea to stay and sleep. I thought I was being responsible."

She got into bed fully clothed and got under the covers. She said that she was first awoken by somebody rubbing up against her but she moved away. The individual, whom she hadn't identified at that point stopped and she thought he had got the message and went back to sleep. He then allegedly made a second and third advance. On the third occasion she alleges he raped her. She said she couldn’t move because Mr Highfield was putting all of his body weight on her hands. 

She does not remember how the alleged incident came to an end. She said: "My brain just completely went. He hadn’t stopped what he was doing but I think I almost blacked out. How could I just not remember anything and then wake up?"

She said that she then woke up some time after and there were two other men and Mr Highfield in the bed. She went to find her friend who was sleeping on the sofa in the living room and told him she had been raped. She said she was trying to be calm but that it was very difficult as she was "a mess" and so upset she couldn’t stand up.

During cross-examination, Advocate Michael Haines, who is defending Mr Highfield, asked the woman why she had chosen to sleep in a stranger's home when her own house was only minutes away and her husband and daughter were waiting for her. She replied that she was trying to be responsible and didn't want her daughter to see her after a night out. She felt it best to sleep for a few hours before returning home and added she wouldn’t have stayed if she didn’t feel safe in the environment she was in.

Advocate Haines suggested that she wanted to share the bed of the defendant which is why she asked if she could sleep in the flat. She denied that, and said she didn’t realise it was his bed, nor did she expect someone to jump in bed with her. 

The defence advocate also asked her why she didn't remove herself from the situation when the defendant first allegedly rubbed against her. She said that having said no she assumed he would stop. Advocate Haines continued saying he was struggling to understand why given the second incident the woman didn’t leave, to which she replied it‘s what she has been asking herself ever since.

Advocate Haines put to her the defendant's version of events. He said the woman made a free choice to stay over in the defendant’s bed, knowing that he would join her, which is why she actually chose to stay.   He added that she was awake when the defendant came in the bed, that they talked and started kissing each other and that passion then took over. According to Advocate Haines the woman then felt guilty and that no sexual intercourse ever took place. 

She broke down in tears, repeating "This couldn’t be further from the truth" as Advocate Haines described what allegedly happened according to Mr Highfield. She also said she had come to court to get justice.

The trial continues this morning and is expected to last until Thursday under the direction of the Bailiff, Sir William Bailhache.