Top Boy star Michael Ward wept in the dock as he was cleared of raping a woman after a New Year's party. The BAFTA-winning actor, 28, denied assaulting the woman in a friend's Mercedes in 2023, insisting their encounter was consensual. After a trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court, a jury found him not guilty of two counts of rape, two counts of assault by penetration, and one count of sexual assault.
Verdict and emotional reaction
Ward stood quietly, holding his hand to his mouth as the jury foreman slowly delivered each not guilty verdict. The jury deliberated for five hours and 25 minutes. Ward then burst into tears and leaned heavily on his defence lawyer as she helped him from the room. Some in the public gallery, packed with family and friends throughout the trial, held back tears.
Background of the case
The alleged incident occurred on January 2, 2023, after Ward met the woman outside an “all-white” party for about 250 people in Gants Hill, east London. Ward, from Silvertown, east London, had spent Christmas with his family and was on a break from a busy schedule that included work in Italy and promotion for an upcoming film.
The woman told the court she felt “numb” and “scared,” remembering “wanting it all to be over” and that she “didn't really feel like I had a choice.” However, Ward testified that they flirted, had foreplay, and enjoyed “passionate” kisses. He said: “We had a mutual attraction with each other. We engaged in consensual sex, had a great time and she was actively participating in what we were doing all the time.”
Evidence and inconsistencies
Prosecutor Tracy Ayling KC argued Ward was “bent that night on having sex with her come what may,” noting the woman admitted she finds Ward attractive and that the encounter in the first car was consensual. But defence counsel Sallie Bennett-Jenkins KC highlighted inconsistencies, telling the jury: “The woman has bluntly not been consistent and has told a series of lies that go to the heart of this matter.”
The court heard the woman deleted parts of messages with Ward, which only came to light 18 months after her initial police interview when investigators obtained screenshots from friends. She claimed there was blood on her clothing, but tests found nothing. Bennett-Jenkins said: “There are three, at the very least, significant areas where the woman can be demonstrated not to have told the truth. Is that a witness upon who you can rely? I suggest not.”
Aftermath and statement
In a statement outside court, Ward's solicitor Humzah Ilyas of Hickman & Rose said: “Micheal Ward is enormously grateful to the members of the jury for taking the time to examine the evidence in this case with such care. As he maintained throughout this case, this was a consensual sexual encounter. The jury agreed and cleared him of all wrongdoing.”
The solicitor added that the case had a “profound impact” on Ward, whose life and career were put on hold for three and a half years. Ward, who rose to fame in the critically acclaimed drama Top Boy and won the BAFTA Rising Star award in 2020, now plans to return to work. He stood next to his solicitor as the statement was read, appearing emotional throughout.
