Police officer raped woman then pushed her downstairs, court hears

Martyn Coulter is accused of raping and assaulting the woman and also raping and assaulting a young girl.

Coulter is on trial at the High Court in Edinburgh (Jane Barlow/PA) (PA Archive)

A police officer allegedly raped a woman and the pushed her down the stairs, a court has heard.

Martyn Coulter is on trial at the High Court in Edinburgh accused of raping and assaulting the woman at an address in East Lothian in 2013.

He is also charged with raping, sexually assaulting and threatening a girl aged under 13.

Coulter, 36, denies all the charges against him.

It wasn't an appropriate thing to do at that time. There was no build-up, or kissing or cuddling

Witness

Giving evidence, a witness told the court how Coulter is alleged to have raped her following an angry confrontation after he finished his shift as a police officer.

“It was very bizarre,” she said. “His face was shaking, vibrating almost.

“He pushed me back on the bed. He was immediately in front of me.

“I thought it was a bit strange, I remember thinking, ‘This is bizarre’.”

The witness was asked if she had said anything to Coulter or challenged him.

She said: “It was so quick. He just didn’t say anything.”

Prosecution Advocate Depute Kath Harper asked her: “Did he ask you if you wanted to have sex?

The witness, who cannot be named for legal reasons, replied: “No.”

Ms Harper asked her: “Did you want to have sex?”

The witness responded: “No. It wasn’t an appropriate thing to do at that time. There was no build-up, or kissing or cuddling.”

She said they had a further angry confrontation and then he “suddenly” pushed her down the stairs.

The woman said: “I remember thinking, ‘You have just pushed me’.

“Suddenly, I was at the bottom of the stairs.”

The witness said she did not remember feeling hurt.

The court then heard about another incident in which Coulter is alleged to have raped and assaulted the woman in 2013 at his flat in Edinburgh.

He had recently been told he would be going on a tour of duty of Afghanistan as a member of the Territorial Army, the court heard.

The witness told the court: “He was really excited and I thought that was great, that was what he had wanted to do.

“He wanted to celebrate by having sex.”

The witness told the court she did not have enough time, but he had asked her on more than one occasion.

“I needed to go but then he had pushed me again,” she said.

The witness said Coulter had pushed her on the back and it once again happened quite quickly.

“I remember just lying there thinking, ‘How has this happened again?’,” she said.

The witness told the court she did not challenge him because she had “excused him” in her head.

“I did not want to hear (from him) it was my fault or it had happened differently.”

She also told the court she was scared of him.

On another occasion, Coulter is alleged to have pushed the witness and put his hand around her throat following another confrontation between the two.

She told the court she did not feel she was going to “pass out” but that speaking would have been very difficult if she had tried.

Mr Coulter is charged with three counts of assaulting the witness between June 2013 and November 2014 at addresses in East Lothian and Edinburgh as well as further two counts of rape and one of threatening behaviour.

He is currently suspended from his role as a constable with Police Scotland, the force confirmed on Monday.

The trial, before Lady Drummond, continues.