Woman 'raped after falling asleep upstairs after house party'

03 October 2023 , 22:04

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Aidan Simmons, pictured at Old Bailey, denies rape

A woman told a court she was molested and raped after ­attending a party.

She told the Old Bailey she had drunk wine and had three double tequilas before leaving in the early hours last September.

She went home with her friend and two men in a taxi, the jury was told. The woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, told jurors she was asleep when Aidan Simmons, 26, came into her bedroom.

She said she rejected Simmons’ claim that the sex was consensual, insisting she had hit out to try to get him off her.

Addressing Simmons’ lawyer, she said: “I do not understand why you would think I would invite him into bed.” Jurors heard that after returning to the house, her friend danced with the defendant using a pole.

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Steven Ames, for Simmons, asked: “Is it true to say she was taking her clothes off while she was doing pole dancing?”

The woman replied: “Definitely not. The woman who owns the house is a professional dancer. [The friend] was just mucking around.”

She described falling asleep upstairs. Mr Ames said the defendant had asked her “you want me to stop?” while she had been awake. The woman disagreed and became tearful as she said she had been “hitting and trying to get him off me”.

There is no suggestion the celebrity was aware of any of the alleged events.

Simmons, of Tower Hamlets, East London, denies rape. Trial continues.

Tom Pettifor