Woman ordered to undress during Belfast rape, court hears

A woman who claims she was raped by two Irish international rugby players said she was ordered to get undressed during the alleged assault.

Ireland and Ulster stars Paddy Jackson, 26, and Stuart Olding, 24, are accused of raping the woman in south Belfast in June 2016 after a night out.

Belfast Crown Court heard the woman had been with friends in the VIP area of Ollie’s nightclub in Belfast’s Merchant Hotel among members of the Ulster Rugby team and some Northern Ireland footballers.

She went to an after-party at Jackson’s house with other revelers when the club closed and ended up consensually kissing him in his bedroom.

The rape is alleged to have happened when she later returned to the bedroom to retrieve a clutch bag, the court heard.

During cross examination on the sixth day of the high-profile trial, the alleged victim said she was ordered to remove her top and did so because she wanted it to all be over.

She contested defence claims she had taken her top off by ‘agreement’.

Although she could not recall who made the alleged request, the woman said: ‘I was ordered to take my top off.

‘I wanted it to be over, so I took my top off.’ 

She was also questioned about why she did not shout for help when a woman walked in on the alleged attack.

Stuart Olding is accused of raping the same woman

The claimant said she was ‘petrified’ the woman would start filming her.

Brendan Kelly QC, defending Jackson, asked the alleged victim: ‘Why did you not ask for her help?’

She responded: ‘What was she going to do? I didn’t know her. I thought she was going to film me.’

Mr Kelly continued: ‘She might have helped you and stopped them raping you. That’s what she could have done. Isn’t it? She could have said ‘stop’ couldn’t she?

‘You would have been able to point to the blood and the tears, if they were there.’ 

The woman replied: ‘In that moment, I was so petrified of being recorded I just turned my head away. It was too late. I had already been raped.’ 

The woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, has been giving evidence from behind a screen.

She rejected defence suggestions she had consented to sex and invited Olding to join in.

Mr Kelly said: ‘When Stuart Olding walked in you were engaged in consensual sexual acts were you not with Paddy Jackson?

‘When he walked in it was you who motioned him towards the bed. Do you accept that or not?’

The woman replied: ‘No, I do not.’

CCTV footage shown to the jury at Belfast Crown Court showed the woman mixing with rugby stars and international footballers such as Kyle Lafferty (left) and Will Grigg (right)

She was asked whether she was aware of any ‘sexual noises’ such as groaning and moaning ‘more consistent with pleasure than pain’ before the witness had walked into the bedroom.

‘There were no pleasurable noises coming from me, no,’ she told the court.

The court previously heard Olding and Jackson boasted about their sexual activity on WhatsApp, as they referred to being ‘top sh*gg*rs’ on the messaging app.

Details of mobile phone communications were given to the jury during the opening day of the high-profile trial.

The court heard that Olding allegedly wrote on WhatsApp ‘We are all top sh*gg*rs, before adding: ‘It was like a merry-go-around at a carnival.’

He also wrote: ‘There was a bit of spit roasting going on last night fellas,’ the court heard.

It is also alleged that Paddy Jackson replied on the same WhatsApp messaging service: ‘There was a lot of spit.’  

Jackson, from Oakleigh Park in Belfast, and Olding, from Ardenlee Street in the city, deny raping the same woman.

Jackson denies a further charge of sexual assault. 

Two other men have also been returned for trial on charges connected with the same incident.

Blane McIlroy, 26, from Royal Lodge Road, Ballydollaghan, Belfast, has pleaded not guilty to one count of exposure, while Rory Harrison, 25, from Manse Road, Belfast, denies perverting the course of justice and withholding information. 

The trial continues