An alleged rape victim testified yesterday that she had absolutely no interest in the accused other than as a friend, so when he pushed her down on a bed and had sex with her, she felt “violated, disgusted, and . . . being taken advantage of”.
The woman, now 22, recounted the incident in Supreme Court No. 2A in the trial of Tyree Aidan Maleek Wharton, 26, of Road View, St Peter, who is accused of raping a then 19-year-old woman on December 10, 2022.
She told the court she knew the accused for several years, because he was the boyfriend of someone close to her and she was friends with both of them. She therefore used to see Wharton sometimes and they would message or call each other via WhatsApp, as friends.
She added that he asked her at one point to pay for something for him because she had First Pay and he did not. The plan was for him to repay her the $120, so when he called to say he would be at a guest house for a few days and she should come and collect the cash, she went.
The complainant continued that before doing so, she sent her best friend her location as a security measure; both of them usually did so just in case anything went wrong.
She said Wharton and another man met her at the bus stop and she and the accused went to his room at the guest house in Dover, Christ Church. She recalled standing by the door, but said he pulled her inside and locked it.
Went inside bathroom
Since her focus was on getting her money and leaving, she stood beside the bed, rather than sit, the court heard. Soon after, some friends knocked so she went inside the bathroom, from where she could hear male voices asking: “Where the girls at?”
The woman testified that they left, she came out of the bathroom and stood again. She said Wharton tried to kiss her, which she rejected, and he then pushed her onto the bed and raped her. After, he got up and dressed himself.
She said she exited through a back door and immediately called her best friend, crying and screaming. Her friend advised her to go to the police, but the complainant said she just wanted to get to the comfort of her home.
She called someone to pick her up on arriving home, and showered for about 15 to 20 minutes.
She added it was only after realising she did not have a menstrual period in December or January, that she again called her best friend and told her. Further, her relatives began asking questions about whether she could be pregnant but she denied it, because she had put the incident to the back of her mind.
The woman said she messaged the accused and told him that she was likely pregnant, and only he and her best friend knew for a while, until she gathered the courage to tell her parents.
She said she never told Wharton’s girlfriend about it either, because she was eight months pregnant and she (the complainant) did not want to stress either the mother or the baby. She also did not want the woman to think that she was at fault.
The trial continues on Monday. (SD)