Clubber who claims cricketer, 23, raped her breaks down in court during questioning

Mr Hepburn (pictured arriving at Worcester Crown Court with his girlfriend, Lucy Street) has denied two counts of rape

A woman who claims a cricketer raped her after finding her asleep in his flatmate’s bed broke down in tears as she said she had sex with the wrong person for 20 minutes before realising who it was.

Alex Hepburn, 23, allegedly attacked a student after she had consensual sex with his teammate, ex-England Lions player Joe Clarke, 22.

The Worcestershire cricketers started a sexual conquest contest just days earlier on WhatsApp, jurors heard.

The woman, in her 20s, met the friends in a nightclub before going back to Mr Clarke’s Worcestor flat where she had sex with him before he passed out on the toilet.

She claims that when she woke up hours later, Hepburn was having sex with her but she initially believed it was Clarke.

‘I couldn’t understand why it wasn’t the person who I fell asleep next too,’ she said.

The alleged victim wept as she was quizzed over her ‘hazy’ memory at Worcester Crown Court. 

Mr Hepburn is accused of raping the woman after she went home with Clarke in the early hours of April 1, 2017 after a night out in Worcester.

Giving evidence from behind a curtain, the woman said: ‘I hadn’t planned to go out that night. I stopped off at the shops and bought a bottle of Rose and went to my friends flat and drank the bottle in a two hour period.

‘We then went to the nightclub Sin, my friend bought a bottle of fizz and it was shared around.

The woman says that she had consensual sex with Joe Clarke (pictured outside Worcester Crown Court) but was then raped

The woman says that she had consensual sex with Joe Clarke (pictured outside Worcester Crown Court) but was then raped

‘In Bushwackers I had a drink at the champagne bar, I left with Joe around 2am that night. Alex wasn’t stood next to us, but he was near us.’

She said that when she got back to Clarke’s flat they started having sex. She told the court: ‘I had sex with Alex for about 20 minutes before pushing him off. I wasn’t wide awake, I tend to shut my eyes when I have sex.

‘I was asleep. I had pushed him off. I’m pretty sure it was pitch black the light was off the bedroom light – the bedroom door was probably closed.’

During her evidence, the woman conceded that she did not have a ‘100% clear’ memory of having consensual sex with Clarke before the alleged rape.

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. 

The woman admitted her memories of the night were ‘hazy’ due to being drunk and said she fled the flat before being found by a passer-by.

She said: ‘There probably was enough light to see when I had sex with Hepburn, my eyes were not open – I did not instigate it.

‘When I realised it was him, I was confused, I couldn’t understand why it wasn’t the person who I fell asleep next too.

‘When I pushed him he was kind of pawing at my legs and encouraging me telling me I’m beautiful.

The Worcestershire CCC all-rounder, pictured at a game in August 2017, is alleged to have attacked the woman in a dark bedroom shortly after she had consensual sex with one of his team-mates, Joe Clarke, following a night out

The Worcestershire CCC all-rounder, pictured at a game in August 2017, is alleged to have attacked the woman in a dark bedroom shortly after she had consensual sex with one of his team-mates, Joe Clarke, following a night out

‘I told Joe in the flat before I left I was going to call the police, but the woman I bumped into in the street called the police.

‘After the incident I was panicking where Joe was so I called his phone – it buzzed next me on the bed.

Alex Hepburn, pictured outside court, is accused of raping a sleeping woman after helping to set up a sexual conquest 'game' with his friends on WhatsApp

Alex Hepburn, pictured outside court, is accused of raping a sleeping woman after helping to set up a sexual conquest ‘game’ with his friends on WhatsApp

‘When he called me I was outside the flat at around 5.26am – which is when I told him I had been raped by Hepburn.’

During cross examination, the woman was asked if she had enjoyed having sex with Hepburn.

Ms Heeley said: ‘You even made sounds that you were enjoying it’, adding: ‘I suggest you had consensual sex with Mr Clarke. 

‘You were quite drunk. I suggest that when Mr Hepburn got into bed you felt him.’

She suggested that after the woman allegedly realised she was not having sex with Mr Clarke she continued to make noises as though she was enjoying it.  

‘You’re memory of these events are not 100 per cent clear – so I suggest that your memory of the incident was not 100 per cent clear,’ she added.

Greggs worker Kelly Moral told the court how she dialled 999 after finding the victim crying in the street.

She said: ‘I saw a white female, blonde, wearing a black dress. Her makeup was a mess and she was crying. I said to her are you okay, she said I have been raped and grabbed me.

‘I phoned the police and told them a girl had been raped. She bent over and was physically sick in the street. She was visibly shaking.’

Hepburn denies two counts of rape. The trial continues. 

 

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