THE alleged victim of a sexual assault has spoken of feeling ‘violated, lost and betrayed’ when they awoke to find themselves being sexually touched, a court heard.
They were giving evidence on the first day of the trial in the Royal Court of 29-year-old Kris Lockhart, who denies a charge of sexual penetration without consent.
Describing the alleged incident, the complainant said: ‘I felt violated. I felt lost and betrayed.’
In his opening remarks to the jury of seven men and five women, Crown Advocate Simon Thomas, prosecuting, said: ‘There can have been no basis to think it was what the victim wanted.
‘The defendant cannot have reasonably believed that the victim was consenting.’
The advocate also read out text messages that Mr Lockhart sent the alleged victim afterwards. The messages said: ‘I made a big mistake. I totally misread the situation. I’m incredibly sorry.’
During cross-examination, Advocate Mike Preston, defending, said to the alleged victim: ‘You were not asleep at any stage, were you?’
The alleged victim replied: ‘I was definitely asleep.’
The day after the alleged assault, the complainant attended an appointment at the Sexual Assault Referral Centre at Dewberry House, but did not consent to an examination.
Advocate Preston said: ‘You knew that an investigation would show no DNA.’
The complainant replied: ‘I had felt violated. I didn’t want to feel violated the next day.’
Deputy Bailiff Robert MacRae is presiding. The case is expected to finish tomorrow.
