Paddy Jackson today told his rape trial that he was passionately kissing a woman who had followed him up the stairs during a house party
Ireland rugby player Paddy Jackson today told his rape trial he passionately kissed his alleged rape victim but she pulled away when he didn’t know her name.
The 26-year-old denies raping a woman at a house party in south Belfast in 2016 and said that they were kissing on a bed.
But he admitted he became ’embarrassed’ when she asked him if he knew her name and he couldn’t give her an answer.
The court also heard that the alleged victim ‘followed’ him upstairs after Jackson got the impression that she liked him.
Jackson, who also denies a charge of sexual assault, was being questioned by his defence counsel Brendan Kelly QC at Belfast Crown Court.
He told the court he dropped his bags at home in the city and then went to Cutters Wharf bar to watch football and have a few drinks with his friends.
Jackson said: ‘It was very casual. Really just watching the football and chatting. We then went to Ollies (nightclub)’.
He told the court that from time to time he would be approached by people he did not know.
Jackson added: ‘It happened quite a lot. I just took the time if they want to talk to me, be polite. If they want a picture or have a chat I try to do that.’
Jackson said that after the nightclub he went home with his friends and three girls, who he did not know.
Jackson (pictured playing for Ireland against Scotland in the Six Nations last year) denies rape and sexual assault
Stuart Olding (left) denies raping the same woman while Rory Harrison (right) denies perverting the course of justice and withholding information
‘The guys would always go back to my house after a night out. I didn’t know the girls in the cab.’
Jackson told the court he remembered smiling at the alleged victim and added: ‘She was looking at me. I didn’t think it was strange at the time.
‘We were flirting with each other. If I went to the kitchen she followed me. It seemed normal. It was very much flirting between both of us.
‘It was nice. I liked her back. I went upstairs. I remember part of me thinking she might follow me upstairs. She did’.
Jackson said the pair kissed ‘passionately’ on the edge of the bed until the alleged victim pulled away and asked if he knew her name.
He said: ‘I didn’t know her name. It was a bit embarrassing at the time. I got up and went downstairs. I wanted to be back in the party.’
He told the court that the woman was ‘on top of him’ and their kiss ‘was quite passionate’.
Jackson added: ‘It was quite passionate. We were both kissing each other. It got a bit more passionate.
‘When I was lying on the bed (she) was on top of me. She started to bite my lower lip. It was playful but pretty hard.
He claimed the woman then performed oral sex on him and his close friend Stuart Olding then walked in.
Blane McIlroy, 26, (pictured) of Belfast, denies exposure
Jackson said: ‘It was a bit embarrassing. I kind of smiled at him and waved at him. It was a bit stupid, kind of ‘hi, look what’s happening’.’
He then said the woman performed oral sex on Olding and said they did not have intercourse because he could not find a condom.
Jackson said: ‘She asked for a condom. I looked in the bedside wardrobe and couldn’t find one. I continued to touch her with my hands.
‘We lay in bed together. I presumed she would be staying the night. I was drunk, tired and I was so happy to be in my own bed. I think I may have fallen asleep.’
He added: ‘It was getting light. She was at the bottom of the bed. I saw her getting dressed.
‘I got up and pulled on some sweats. We said something to each other. I can’t remember what. I assume I said ‘Are you leaving?’
When asked if he had known the alleged victim was upset leaving his house he said: ‘If I had seen she was upset I would have gone and checked on her. I didn’t see her upset.
‘The last thing I want is a girl crying leaving my house. I would have freaked out. The last thing I ever want is anyone leaving my house upset.
‘I went to bed and had no idea she was upset.’
Jackson added: ‘I have never been in a fight before. I am not an aggressive person.’
The barrister said: ‘Have you ever as much as thrown a punch Mr Jackson?’
To which the defendant replied: ‘No.’
The court also heard about Jackson’s close friendships with some well-known rugby players including Irish captain Rory Best.
Inquiring about social interactions involving Mr Best, the lawyer asked: ‘You were tasked with babysitting his children?
Jackson replied: ‘Yeah, I would and I got invited to his son’s sixth birthday.’
Jackson also described co-accused Olding as a ‘very close friend’, having met at the Ulster Rugby Academy.
He has been friends with Blane McIlroy and Rory Harrison, who are also facing charges connected to the incident, since school.
Jackson, from Belfast, and Olding, 24, from Belfast, deny raping the same woman. Jackson denies a further charge of sexual assault.
McIlroy, 26, of Belfast, denies exposure while Harrison, 25, from Belfast, denies perverting the course of justice and withholding information.
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