Police officer guessed alleged rapists were Ulster Rugby players

A police officer correctly guessed a woman's alleged rapists were Ulster Rugby players despite the complainant's refusal to identify them, the trial of Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding has heard.

The PSNI constable said his initial interview with the then 19-year-old Belfast student was "very difficult" as she would only say that her alleged attackers were "high profile."

The officer was on patrol on the evening of June 29th, 2016 when he was called to Lisburn Road Police Station to take the woman’s complaint.

He said the woman told him she had been at Ollie’s nightclub on the night of the 25th before going back to a house party where she was raped by two men.

The officer said the reference to Ollie’s “struck a chord” with him as his 19-year-old step daughter was there on the same night and she had told him the Ulster Rugby team were also there.

The officer asked the complainant: “If I ask you an honest question will you give me an honest answer?”. She agreed and he asked her if the men who raped her were Ulster Rugby players. She said they were but refused to be more specific.

She eventually did name Mr Jackson, Mr Olding and the third accused Blane McIlroy and detailed what she alleged happened to her.

Mr Jackson (26), of Oakleigh Park, Belfast has pleaded not guilty to rape and sexual assault in the early hours of June 28th, 2016 at a party in his house. Mr Olding (24), of Ardenlee Street, Belfast, denies one count of rape on the same occasion. Both men contend the activity was consensual.

Mr McIlroy (26), of Royal Lodge Road, Ballydollaghan, Belfast, has pleaded not guilty to one count of exposure while Rory Harrison (25), from Manse Road, Belfast, has pleaded not guilty to perverting the course of justice and withholding information relating to the incident.

The police officer said the woman told him the rape began when she decided to leave the house party and went into Mr Jackson’s bedroom to get her handbag.

Mr Jackson’s counsel, Brendan Kelly QC, asked the constable if he asked her how the bag came to be in Mr Jackson’s room.

The officer said she had said she couldn’t remember. Counsel asked why this detail wasn’t in the statement which is officially known as an Initial Verbatim Account. “Verbatim, meaning word for word” counsel said.

The officer replied the woman had left by the time he filled in the form so he had to do it “retrospectively.”

‘It’s daunting’

The trial also heard from three friends of the alleged victim who interacted with her in the days after the incident.

One friend was asked about a text message exchange with the complainant two weeks before the alleged rape in which they discussed the general issue of rape.

During the conversation, the witness (her friend) said if she ever got raped she wouldn’t go to the police and would deal with the matter herself.

According to her texts, she would “find a way to blackmail or stab [the rapist] or something.” She told counsel she had meant this in a humorous manner. “I wasn’t serious.”

The complainant replied by text she was thinking about taking up boxing and the witness responded that was a good idea.

Asked by counsel why she wouldn’t go to police, the witness replied: “Because of what’s happening in this room. It’s daunting, quite horrible and you get blamed. It’s a distressing process”.

The witness also said she had never seen the complainant as upset as she was when she picked her up in her car the day after the alleged rape. The complainant got in, hugged her and started crying, she said.

During re-examination, the witness told Toby Hedworth QC, prosecuting, she had known her friend for a long time and had seen her through “sad” incidents before but she had never seen her like this. She said her friend had always kept her composure and been “verbally strong.”

“For her to just get in the car and not stop crying. I didn’t know how to respond. That shook me.”

‘Messy’

Another friend said she picked up the complainant to bring her to a sexual health clinic the day afterwards. “The first time she got into the car we both looked at each other. I asked if she was OK and she burst into tears,” the witness said.

“She looked physically unwell. I’d never seen her cry before and I’ve always known her to be private with her emotions.”

That evening, at her urging, the complainant eventually agreed to go to police, the witness said.

“She had the same concerns as the day before but realised it wasn’t right for it not to be reported because she didn’t want something like this to happen to somebody else.”

A third friend who spoke with the complainant during that period said she was reluctant to go to the police because didn’t like the PSNI and was worried things would get “messy” if she made allegations against Ulster rugby players.

Her friend replied: “Just pretend you don’t know them from rugby. Pretend you’d never seen them before.”

When asked by Mr Kelly what she meant by this, the witness replied: “The meaning behind that is it doesn’t matter what someone’s profession is. Rape is rape.”

Counsel asked if she thought her friend might lie to the police.

“I would never have told my friend to lie. Never,” she replied.

The trial continues on Friday before Judge Patricia Smyth and a jury at Laganside Crown Court.