A Royal Marines captain raped a woman at a military base despite her saying 'No, no, stop it,' a court has heard. Capt Ricky Shepherd, 47, is on trial facing charges of rape, attempted rape, assault by penetration and sexual assault in the early hours of November 24, 2023.
Prosecution's Account
Shepherd met the complainant at an officers' mess bar at a military base in Dorset where she had been socialising, Richard Onslow, prosecuting, told Bournemouth Crown Court. 'She decided to sleep on a sofa in the mess and she told Ricky Shepherd that before he left the bar,' Mr Onslow said.
Mr Onslow added that Shepherd sent the alleged victim a WhatsApp message 'wishing her goodnight' and she replied saying she was about to go home. 'He invited her to stay with him although he realised that was a bit of a forward suggestion and soon after that he messaged her again: "We fancy each other, right?" And she replied: "Yes but I just want to sleep".'
Mr Onslow said that Shepherd sent another message saying: 'You can sleep in my bed', and the complainant replied: 'That will do but I really just want to sleep.' The prosecutor said that the defendant gave the complainant directions on how to reach the room where he was staying and added: 'When she got to his room, he came to the door wearing his shirt and trousers, offered her a beer, she refused it.'
Complainant's Account
'She told him nothing was going to happen, she removed her clothes including her pants. She lay at the edge of the bed and she felt him grinding himself against her. She said she had an early start and said: "Thank you but no".' Mr Onslow said that as the pair were lying in the bed, Shepherd 'grabbed her chest' and made repeated attempts to have sex with her. He said that the complainant said that Shepherd was 'completely and utterly focused' on having sex with her.
Mr Onslow said: 'She froze because she didn't know what to do, she didn't know who was around, what their reaction would be. It was like he wasn't listening although she was saying 'No look I do not want to.' The prosecutor said that the defendant asked for oral sex which she strongly rejected.
Mr Onslow said that after a while the pair fell asleep before the defendant tried again in the early morning to have sex with her while holding her down. 'The more she said "No" and tried to wriggle away, the more turned on he was. She decided to get it over with, which the Crown says is not true consent. She said: "Stop", but he continued.'
Aftermath and Defence
The prosecutor said that in the morning, the defendant was 'chatty' as he drove the complainant to her car. Mr Onslow said: 'This is a case where the defendant simply ignored a woman saying: 'No, no, stop it,' he just carried on regardless.' He added that the defendant told police that the sex was consensual and suggested she had accused him because 'possibly she was embarrassed she had sex with him, might have been seen by somebody coming out of his room, might be the walk of shame'.
The prosecutor said that the complainant told two people about the incident on the following day before she attended a sexual assault referral centre where photographs were taken of bruising to her chest, legs and arms and made a formal complaint to police in January 2024.
Victim's Statement
In a video interview shown to the jury, the complainant said that she had felt confident she could trust the defendant because of his rank. She said: 'He's a f****** officer, he should have the integrity to know there are boundaries. I should have realised he was pretty drunk.' The complainant said that after getting into the bed, she fell asleep and woke up to find him 'grinding' up against her.
'I could feel him having rolled over, sort of grinding is probably the best way to put it, I tried to wriggle. I just want to go to sleep, I have got an early start, thank you but no. He got really grabby on my breasts, painfully grabby. I didn't know what to do, I just completely froze up because if I made a fuss, shouted or screamed, I didn't know who else was in the block.'
'I didn't know what to do, I didn't know whether I should kick off because I didn't know who else was around and what their reaction would be and just the thought of guys charging in, it would just be even more humiliation.' The complainant said: 'He was completely and utterly focused, he wanted to f*** and that's all, it was like he wasn't listening at all.' She said that the next morning she thought to herself: 'This isn't a bad dream, this is real. I was so numb.'
The defendant, who was based at the time at Hamworthy, Poole, denies the charges and the trial continues.
