A woman has told a Royal Court trial how she was raped despite repeatedly saying “no” while she was still a teenager.
The trial of Shay John Edward Bester, 50, began yesterday. He is facing 16 charges which he allegedly committed against three women several decades ago.
He denies nine counts of rape, three counts of procuring an act of gross indecency, three of unlawful sexual intercourse and one of assault.
Setting out the case yesterday, Crown Advocate Emma Hollywood, prosecuting, said that Mr Bester was a “sexual predator” who preyed on vulnerable teenage girls.
The three women, all of whom allege offences that they say happened several decades ago, came forward separately, the court heard.
During cross-examination this morning, one of the alleged victims said she told the defendant she didn’t want to have sex with him.
Advocate Olaf Blakeley, defending, said Mr Bester had tried to change her mind – and that she didn’t protest after that.
The woman said: “He penetrated me anyway, even though I said no. I said I was not in the mood. I didn’t fight back.”
She added: “I’d already said no. I’d said no. How many times does a person need to say no for a person to understand the word ‘no’?”
When asked whether a person could change their mind despite initially having rejected a request, the woman said “yes”. “You accept a person can change their mind, don’t you?”
Commissioner Andrew Oldland, presiding, asked her: “Did you change your mind?”
The woman said: “No.”
Mr Bester was convicted in 2023 of a similar offence against a teenage girl, jurors were told, and a search of his devices several years ago revealed that he held “rape pornography”, according to Crown Advocate Hollywood.
The trial is expected to last two weeks, though jurors have been told it could last longer.
