British actor Micheal Ward has denied raping a woman in the back of a car, telling a jury the encounter was consensual and he thought they were “having a great time”.
Ward, 28, is accused of raping the woman after meeting her at a nightclub in east London on 2 January 2023. He denies two charges of rape and three counts of sexual assault.
Ward told Snaresbrook Crown Court in London on Monday that they had shared a “quite flirty” conversation and “passionate” kisses, which then became a “developing situation”.
The Bafta-award winning actor is known for his starring roles in the film Blue Story and Netflix series Top Boy.
The woman – who cannot be named for legal reasons – broke down last week as she told the jury she “did not understand the situation” she was in and that she “never would have got in that car with him” if she had known.
Jurors were previously told she knew Ward had been in films and on TV and felt flattered when he asked for her Snapchat handle.
The woman recalled that she “did not use the word no” during the encounter and “completely shut down”, but said she told Ward that she needed to leave “on multiple occasions”.
On Monday, Ward told the court that she was an “active participant”.
“Everything we did was wholly consensual and we were having a great time,” he said, when asked what he thought about the situation by his lawyer Sallie Bennett-Jenkins KC.
“We had a mutual attraction with each other. We engaged in consensual sex, had a great time and she was actively participating in what we were doing all the time.”
The alleged incident happened during a new year party Ward was hosting in Gants Hill, east London.
He told the court he thought the woman was “very cute” when he saw her outside the venue, and that while talking to her he could “tell there was interest there – from her eye contact and the way she was speaking”.
They had a “very light” and “very cool” chat, Ward told the court, and he asked her to join him in a car, where there was a “continuation of the flirting”.
“She was reciprocating the energy. She was pulling me close. For me, that was an inviting act and we were both enjoying that moment,” Ward told the court, adding that she “never mentioned anything about wanting to leave”.
Afterwards, the woman had seemed “absolutely fine” and they had a “nice and engaging general conversation”, Ward said.
The court heard that they later exchanged messages – he sent her a smiling emoji with a heart, and she told him to enjoy the rest of his night.
When asked by his lawyer if the woman did anything to show she did not want what happened, Ward replied: “No miss, if she did, we would not have done it.”
During the trial last week, the court heard that the woman looked upset when she got into a friend’s car to go home after the alleged assault.
The friend, who also cannot be named for legal reasons, told the court the woman’s “demeanour was off” and “she kept on crying” when asked what had happened.
The alleged victim ordered an STI kit while returning home and ticked a box which asked if she had been sexually assaulted, the court heard.
Ward was awarded the Bafta Rising Star Award in 2020 and was later nominated twice for roles in the BBC’s Small Axe and 2022 film Empire of Light.
The trial continues.
www.bbc.co.uk
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