“She was in a heightened state of distress”

Wednesday 27 November 2019

A friend of a woman who is accusing two men of having raped her at St. Aubin's Fort when she was just a teenager, has told a jury the woman was "distressed" and "sobbing uncontrollably" the day after the alleged assaults took place.

Ian Pryor is facing two counts of rape, while Anthony John Quant is facing one count of rape, and one count of indecent assault; they both deny the charges against them.

The offences are alleged to have happened some decades ago.

On the first day of the trial, Crown Advocate Emma Hollywood, who is leading the prosecution, told the jury the alleged victim had been raped twice by Mr Pryor and once by Mr Quant who had then gone on to indecently assault her, whilst she was being raped by Mr Pryor for the second time.  

Pictured: The offences are alleged to have happened decades ago at St. Aubin’s Fort. 

The Crown Advocate described the girl as “vulnerable and helpless” and “at the mercy of two men,” whom she said abused her “vulnerability and trust” as well as her body, “in the worst way possible.”

The alleged victim was the first witness to give evidence during the trial. She told the jury of five women and six men that she didn’t speak at first and just cried. 

“I was a virgin,” she said. “I couldn’t do anything… There was nothing I could do to make it stop.”

Yesterday, one of the alleged victim's friend was called by the prosecution to give evidence. She said her friend's whole body had been shaking uncontrollably the morning after the alleged incident.

Pictured: The prosecution called two people who knew the alleged victim to give evidence in the trial.

The woman said she had been shocked by her friend’s appearance and concerned about her wellbeing, when she saw her with “unkempt” and “dishevelled” hair and with her clothes looking as though they “had been pulled, possibly from her body” or put on in a haste.

The woman said the alleged victim was hyperventilating and “couldn’t get her words out”. “Whatever had occurred, her body was in shock and it was very visible,” she added.

It was only after 20 minutes of sitting her down on the floor, that the alleged victim told her friend what had happened.

Doing so, the witness said she was “sobbing uncontrollably” and in “a heightened state of distress."

The woman said she didn’t remember any further interactions with her friend in the days after the incident, but explained this moment had stuck in her memory as it had been “a very prominent moment in my life.”

Pictured: The trial continues until Friday.

A man who knew the alleged victim at the time also gave evidence in the trial. He told the jury that the morning after the incident she looked like “a completely different person” instead of her usual bubbly self. 

“She seemed withdrawn, depressed,” he said. “I couldn’t understand what was going on… I had never seen her that way.”

The man said that, later on that day, the teen girl had tried to throw herself off a wall, saying “she wanted to kill herself... wanted to die and couldn’t go on.”

“I had never seen her like that,” the man said. “I thought she was losing the plot or going mad and I didn’t know why.”

The trial against Mr Pryor - who is represented by Advocate Luke Sette - and Mr Quant – who is represented by Advocate Adam Harrison - is being presided over by Royal Court Commissioner Julian Clyde-Smith.

It continues today with the rest of the prosecution case.