Cricketer rape case: Woman breaks down under court questioning
A woman alleged to have been raped by a cricketer has broken down after being cross-examined about her "hazy" memory of having consensual sex with one of his team-mates, former Oswestry player Joe Clarke.
The complainant, who cannot be identified, asked for a break in her testimony after becoming tearful during questioning on behalf of Worcestershire all-rounder Alex Hepburn.
Hepburn, 23, denies raping the woman, who told the court she was initially asleep and wrongly thought she was having sex with former Worcestershire batsman Mr Clarke.
A jury at Worcester Crown Court has been told both Hepburn and Mr Clarke were involved in a sexual conquest "game" - after setting up a "stat chat" page to keep a record of sex with women.
During her evidence on the second day of the trial, the alleged victim rejected a suggestion that her memory of her initial sexual contact with Hepburn was "not completely clear".
Hepburn's barrister, Michelle Heeley QC, asked the woman whether she was "fairly drunk" after drinking wine, prosecco and spirits during a night-out prior to the alleged rape in April 2017.
The complainant responded: "I was tipsy but well aware of what I was doing."
After the woman told the court some of the details of what happened on the night were "a bit hazy", Ms Heeley asked her whether she had remained still during sex with Hepburn.
The witness, giving evidence from behind a curtain shielding her from being seen from the public gallery, then began sobbing and accepted the judge's offer of a break in the proceedings.
Following a 15-minute adjournment, Ms Heeley suggested that Hepburn and the woman had "moved around the bed" during the alleged rape over a period of at least 20 minutes.
The alleged victim told the jury: "I was asleep. From what I can remember I was lying still on my back."
During her evidence, the woman conceded that she did not have a "100% clear" memory of having consensual sex with Mr Clarke before the alleged rape.
Realised
But she denied that she had felt Hepburn get into bed, woken up, opened her eyes, begun to kiss him and then performed a sex act on him.
Ms Heeley said: "The fact it continued for ten minutes, I suggest, shows it was something you were actively enjoying and engaging in?"
The woman responded: "No. My eyes weren't open."
Ms Heeley went on: "Nothing that you had said or done would have told Mr Hepburn that you weren't enjoying this sex?"
The woman replied: "I pushed him off when I realised, but before, no."
At the end of her cross-examination, Ms Heeley asserted: "I suggest it is a possibility that your memory of how sex with Alex Hepburn started is not completely clear?"
The witness answered: "No."
The court also heard that Mr Clarke was initially arrested after the woman told police she could not remember whether or not she had had sex with him.
At a later point, the court heard, she had sought out Mr Clarke, who has played for England Lions, to apologise "because it was nothing to do with him."
Hepburn, of Portland Street, Worcester, denies two counts of rape.
The case continues.
