Overview
- Bafta-winning actor Micheal Ward has pleaded not guilty to two counts of rape, two counts of assault by penetration and one count of sexual assault relating to an encounter in January 2023.
- The trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court opened with prosecutor Tracy Ayling KC playing the complainant’s recorded police interviews to jurors in evidence presented on Monday, June 29.
- The woman told police she felt ‘numb’ and ‘scared,’ said she tried to leave the vehicle and was told to close the door, and later ordered an STI kit while driving home, ticking a box that indicated sexual assault.
- Ward denies the allegations and gave a prepared police statement saying the sexual activity was consensual, a point the defence will press as witnesses and other material are heard.
- The case will continue with further witness testimony and documentary evidence and carries wider public interest because of Ward’s high profile while he remains legally presumed innocent.