Katie Price messaged a teenage girl allegedly raped by her then-husband, asking if he had kissed her and saying: “I will make you a little star,” a court heard.
Ms Price’s ex-husband, Kieran Hayler, is on trial at Lewes Crown Court accused of three counts of rape and one count of sexual assault on the 13-year-old girl in West Sussex in 2016.
Messages shown to jurors
Jurors saw messages sent between Ms Price and the girl, when she was then aged 14, in which the media personality said she had heard Hayler and the girl kissed and he had “tried it on” with her, adding: “I’m only asking as this is a serious allegation.”
The teenager replied that it was “just a flirt thing” and “nothing happened”. Ms Price then asks: “Did he kiss you? I won’t bring up anymore just want truth. I will make you a little star.”
Complainant’s account in court
Asked in cross-examination about the exchange as to why she said nothing happened, the complainant, now an adult, said she was “trying to brush it off”. Pressed on what she took Ms Price to mean by: “I will make you a little star”, she told the court: “I don’t think I said anything. I think I just ignored it.”
In the conversation, Ms Price goes on to ask if Hayler ever said he liked or fancied her, to which the girl replies: “Yes but I took it as a joke.”
Defence and background
Defence counsel Arlette Piercy had suggested to the woman in court that the alleged rapes and sexual assault never happened, but the complainant told the jury: “I would never make it up.”
Hayler was married to Ms Price at the time of the allegations but their relationship broke down in 2018 and they divorced in 2021. He denies the charges and suggests his ex-wife had “launched a campaign” against him when their marriage ended, and the allegations form part of this, the court heard. The alleged victim is not part of Hayler or Ms Price’s extended families.
The trial continues.
