A jury has listened to harrowing secret recordings where a young woman is heard pleading 'please stop' to an asylum seeker who allegedly raped her at her home in Bournemouth.
Distressing Audio Evidence Presented in Court
The distressing audio clips, which were covertly recorded by the alleged victim on her mobile phone, were played to the jury at Bournemouth Crown Court. The court heard that Chret Callender, 28, drunkenly forced himself onto the woman after turning up at her home in the early hours of June 14.
Callender's address was given as the Britannia Hotel in Bournemouth, Dorset, one of three hotels in the area being used by the Home Office to accommodate asylum seekers. The court was told the woman had offered him a lift home earlier in the evening.
'No Means No': The Alleged Attack in Her Own Home
The jury heard that Callender allegedly asked the woman for some 'loving', which she rejected. He then allegedly overpowered her and 'carried on regardless'. Demonstrating what the prosecution described as 'presence of mind', the woman recorded the incident on her phone.
In the audio, she is heard crying and becoming increasingly upset, telling Callender 'I have said no, please stop.' Callender is alleged to have told her to 'have some respect for me' and to 'shut up'. At one point, he asked her 'why are you crying? You're making me feel like I'm raping you'.
The recordings continued after the alleged attack, capturing Callender telling the woman he was sorry and that he had 'f...ed up'.
Victim's Account of the Night
The jury also heard the woman's police interview, given the day after the alleged rape. She described being out with friends in Bournemouth Pleasure Gardens, where Callender was also present. She took a taxi home alone, but the defendant later arrived at her door.
'I told him I didn't want him to come in. I was worried he was going to be loud and I didn't want to get in trouble with my housemates,' she told police. 'He told me to f*** off a few times. I said "I'm in my house, I can't go anywhere, you can leave" but he said no.'
She described being wrapped in a blanket, trying to sleep, when he pulled it off her. 'I tried to push him off and kept saying "no, I don't want to" and he said "I need to, I'll be quick",' she stated. 'I made it clear no means no. He was telling me he didn't care if I cried... I tried pushing him off but I couldn't, he kept pushing my hands away.'
After the alleged assault, she locked herself in the bathroom. When she returned, she said Callender told her, 'I'm sorry, I didn't know this is how you would react, this isn't my fault.' She said she was in shock and sat on her bed for hours, unable to sleep while he was there.
No details were given in court about Callender's nationality or how long he has been in the UK. Chret Callender denies one count of rape and one count of sexual assault. The trial at Bournemouth Crown Court continues.
