The complainant broke down in tears on several occasions as she told jurors that she felt as if she was ‘going to die’ as the defendants – Ian Lee Pryor and Anthony John Quant (both 51) – allegedly sexually abused her.
Speaking from the witness box on the first day of the Assize trial, the now-adult woman told the jury of six men and five women that she had ‘blacked out’ after one of the defendants told her to drink ‘a clear liquid’ in a bottle with a red top on while she and others were at the fort.
She told the court that when she came round, she was alone with the defendants who then allegedly took it in turns to rape her. Mr Pryor, it is claimed, then allegedly raped the woman for a second time as Mr Quant sexually assaulted her at the same time.
‘I was trying to work out where I was. I just wished someone would come and find me,’ said the woman, who claims that the next day she considered jumping from the pier wall.
Mr Prior and Mr Quant both deny one count of rape. Mr Prior also denies a second count of rape and Mr Quant a charge of indecent assault. The offences are alleged to have taken place decades ago. The defence counsel is due to give its case later in the week.
The woman first told the police about the alleged crimes in 2002 – over a decade after they allegedly occurred – but the case did not progress. It was not until 2015 that the investigation was re-opened.
Asked by Crown Advocate Emma Hollywood, prosecuting, why she did not go to the police at the time of the incident, the complainant replied: ‘It was never an option, everyone around us was corrupt, [the] community police officers. I did not trust any adults around me, the community police officers would make suggestive remarks, in particular one.’
The complainant did say she sought medical help from a doctor and called Childline but used a fake name on both occasions.
She did not tell her parents, she said, for fear of the impact it would have on her mother and that her father ‘might kill’ the defendants.
Opening the prosecution’s case, Advocate Hollywood urged the jury to look at a picture of the complainant as a girl in their bundles throughout the trial and remember the alleged offences took place when she was a ‘young and vulnerable teenager’.
She added: ‘The victim was alone in a cold dark room at the mercy of the men before you today.’
Commissioner Julian Clyde-Smith was presiding. The trial, which is scheduled to last a maximum of five days, continues.
