Man accused of rape says he was surprised by accusations

Wednesday 30 August 2017

A 32-year-old man who is accused of having raped and indecently assaulted a 25-year-old woman in December 2015 has told the Royal Court he was surprised by the accusations.

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

Mr Highfield was the first witness to be called in the defence case, led by Advocate Michael Haines. Mr Highfield said that the night before the alleged incident, he was in a great mood and had quite a lot to drink.

He described the alleged victim as a pretty girl who fitted in very well with the men in his flat, although she only knew one of them. He said she was always chatting and laughing adding, "Some girls just have that way about them but you can’t judge a person because she is being forward."

He said that she never said "Don’t try anything," before going to sleep in his bed for a few hours. When he got in the bedroom, she was awake and they chatted for a while. Although he admitted being "definitely still drunk," Mr Highfield said he could still hold a conversation.  

Mr Highfield said that after a while he and the woman started kissing. He added that everything was done with consent. However, the woman then said she had a husband and a child, "with a little bit of regret in her voice" and Mr Highfield stopped, put his boxers back and turned over to go to sleep. 

When he woke up the next morning, the woman was gone. The police arrived at Mr Highfield's flat in the early afternoon and arrested him on suspicion of rape. Mr Highfield said he was surprised by the accusation.

Earlier in the  morning, Crown Advocate Simon Thomas closed the prosecution case by reading a summary of the defendant's first interview with the police. Mr Highfield said that he was hugely intoxicated the night of the alleged incident. He explained that everyone was "dancing, drinking, smoking and having a good time" in his flat. He described the alleged victim, who was the only woman in the room, as very bubbly and dancing with everyone and said she was as drunk as everyone else. He stated that although she told him she was married she did not behave like a married woman and was flirtatious.  

He said that later in the evening the woman asked where the bed was, someone else told her where the bed was and Mr Highfield said she could help herself to it. When he went to bed, she was awake and he asked her to move over and then chatted for a while. When Mr Highfield was asked what happened after he said: "I don’t want to talk about it until the results come back. I would like to know, I would just like to know (what the results are)."

Mr Highfield could not explain why the woman would accuse him of raping her, which he described as a "massive accusation," as he had never met her before.

The crown advocate also read a list of the admitted facts which included the findings of the examination of both the defendant and the alleged victim. The forensic physician who saw the woman after she made a complaint to the police found a love bite on the side of her neck as well as small bruises on her hands.

A DNA profile that matches the defendant’s was found on the woman while a profile that matches hers was found on him, although it wasn’t possible to confirm how either was transferred.  

The trial continues with the cross-examination of Mr Highfield by Crown Advocate Thomas.