Young actor actor facing rape charge 'punched victim'

A child actor who allegedly raped another student told his victim "anything that happened you wanted to happen" before punching him in the face, a witness has told a court.

The friend of the alleged victim said the defendant came up to both of them at school in a "temper", London's Blackfriars Crown Court heard.

In his police statement, the witness claimed the TV star - who cannot be named because of his age - said to his alleged victim: "Everything that we did you wanted to happen too, don't make it out like you didn't."

Giving evidence today, the witness told the court: "I couldn't be 100% sure of the wording but he said something to that effect.

"He (the defendant) grabbed me on the shoulders to try and get to him (the complainant) behind me.

"He swung at him and made contact. He hit him in the face."

Prosecuting, Timothy Forster asked: "How hard?"

The witness replied: "It was reasonably hard. He had to go away and recover, and he had tears in his eyes."

The teenager was allegedly raped by the defendant in a theatre stairwell aged 14 during a rehearsal.

One count of oral rape and three counts of sexual assault are all denied by the defendant.

The witness said he and the alleged victim were close friends at school.

He also described several occasions after the assault is claimed to have happened when the alleged victim tried to talk about it.

He said: "Initially he said it in a jokey, matey sort of way, and brought up that something happened between him and (the defendant) at the bottom of the stairwell.

"He didn't go into much detail. I could tell it was incredibly difficult for him."

The prosecutor asked: "When it came to sexual matters, was it something he talked about often?"

"Not really no. It was a bit unusual for him to come out with that", the witness replied.

The witness recalled further conversations once back at school where the alleged victim returned to the matter, and said "there was an air of desperation" in the way he spoke.

He said his friend was "choking" and "had tears in his eyes" during these conversations.

Under cross examination, Judy Khan, defending, asked: "You assumed it was consensual?"

The witness replied: "Yes."

Earlier in the day the court heard from a teacher at the school, who described the alleged victim as "a pleasure to teach".

The actor went into the witness box and was questioned about the sexual activity between him and the alleged victim.

Ms Khan asked the defendant: "Was there ever an occasion when it was against his will?"

He replied: "No."

The defendant described speaking to his alleged victim about his sexuality.

"I started hearing rumours about him and other boys, and I asked him 'Are you gay or are you straight?' He said he was experimenting," the defendant told the jury.

Ms Khan said: "Why at that stage had you asked him about his sexuality?"

The defendant replied: "I think I was starting to have curiosities. I was starting to be a bit bi-curious."

PA