The mother of a teenage girl allegedly raped by Kieran Hayler has told a court she felt Katie Price "didn't care" about her daughter.
Price's ex-husband Hayler is on trial at Lewes Crown Court accused of three counts of rape and one count of sexual assault against the 13-year-old girl in West Sussex in 2016. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Mother's evidence in court
The complainant's mother gave evidence on Thursday (October 8). She said that when she told Price about the allegations: "She was quite angry and I didn't feel she was particularly upset for (the complainant)".
She added of Price's alleged behaviour afterwards: "I didn't feel she cared about my daughter."
The court heard the teen told her mother a year after the alleged rapes that Hayler had "done everything to her", to which she was "shocked". She told jurors she tried to ask her daughter to explain but she said "I can't tell you anymore" and then she "couldn't speak".
Asked if she had questioned her further, she replied: "I didn't because she was so distressed, I didn't feel like I could, I just left her to calm."
Reaction to allegations
The mother told the court she told Price about the allegations because she felt like she "had to". She told jurors she told Price: "I think he's done something to (the complainant)."
Asked how Price reacted, she replied: "She was shocked and probably swore. I feel she was just angry and feeling revengeful towards Kieran."
But the complainant's mother said her daughter did not "want anyone to know" and they had to "respect her wishes".
In court she said she and her daughter had fallen out after she told Price. Asked if this was because she felt she betrayed her trust, the mother replied: "Yes, she probably didn't want anyone to ever know and yes it did cause arguments."
Behavioural changes and reporting
The mother said she noticed changes in the teen's behaviour around that time, such as her becoming more "withdrawn". She said: "My main concern was her washing, she would shower about four times a day and scrub her skin and it really worried me. I said 'why are you washing so much', she said 'I just feel dirty all the time'."
The complainant first contacted the NSPCC charity in 2021 over the allegations, which referred her to the police, prompting the investigation. Her mother told the court about the day her daughter told her she had reported it to the police, and she said: "I knew straight away what she meant."
Asked if she knew the details by that point, she said: "She still hadn't told me exactly what had happened. She said it had happened on more than one occasion. A few days after she reported it we sat down and talked about it. She said it made her feel sick and dirty thinking about it whenever she thought about what had happened at the time she thought it was normal but looking back on it she realised it wasn't because of her age and then she just felt dirty."
Hayler has suggested his ex-wife Price had "launched a campaign" against him when their marriage ended, and the allegations form part of this, the court heard.
He was married to media personality Price at the time of the allegations, before the couple's relationship broke down in 2018 and they divorced in 2021. The alleged victim is not part of Hayler or Price's extended families.
The trial continues.
