Denials of rape made by a man, Kieran Hayler, on trial in court
Kieran Hayler, the ex-husband of Katie Price, reportedly told a 13-year-old girl who has accused him of rape that she could be his “best friend” since he himself had no friends, a court was told. The same court heard that Hayler allegedly told the girl about not having any friends and that he has consented to him molesting her after he took advantage of her.
Meanwhile, The Sun reported that the girl’s mother, in her testimony, told the jury her daughter was attracted to the way Kieran Hayler talked to her. The mother quoted the daughter as saying, “He said he didn’t have any friends and that she could be his best friend.” “She was quite taken by the way he talked to her,” the mother added.
The charges refer to the events that are claimed to have happened in West Sussex from June 1 to October 13, 2016. The 39-year-old Hayler is claiming he is innocent of the charges being leveled against him. The trial is still underway.
Mother of Kieran Says She Kept Allegations Secret to Protect Daughter’s Trust
The court got an explanation of why the complainant’s mother didn’t bring the matter up to others until Katie Price got in touch with the social services agency in 2018.
When the question of the delay came up, the mother said she had been trying to preserve her daughter’s trust and maintain the secret she had been told. “I had to keep her secret and her trust,” she said in court.
“I couldn’t tell my husband because of the consequences, which would have been inevitable. I didn’t want anything of this kind for her.” The mother refused to admit that Katie Price was the reason she went to court or gave evidence through her daughter. She also refuted that the daughter aimed at turning into a celebrity.
Throughout the courtroom, the jury got a chance to listen to texts between Price and the complainant where Price, a TV personality, according to the allegations, would give the complainant a chance to be “a little star.” The texts were shown to the mother at the hearing of her evidence.
The defendant’s barrister, Arlette Piercy, asked the mother questions about the texts and the nature of her daughter’s knowledge about the allegations. The witness held on to claiming her daughter never was a fame-seeker. “My daughter wasn’t looking to become a star,” she explained.
Asked if she had believed that something happened and what actions she had taken, the mother said, “Indeed, I took my daughter’s side.”
Kieran Hayler Claims He Is Being Set Up By Ex-Katie Price, Court Hears
Also, during the trial, Kieran Hayler has said, and it has been testified, that he feels his former wife is plotting to set him up through these allegations after their marriage disintegrated. When the court session began, the judges were informed that he was going to allege that the accusations against him are not factual but are lies created against him.
The mother of the complainant, when pressed and questioned whether her statements against Hayler had been influenced or coerced in any way, categorically denied it.
Crown prosecutor Ryan Richter, questioning her in the courtroom, wanted to know if her being at the court was simply part of supporting her daughter by inventing the claims she made. “No, I have not,” was her immediate reaction. Next, he wanted to know if there was any pressure or even influence on her to make the allegations. She said, “No, absolutely no one.”
Motivated by the idea of reconciliation, she went into therapeutic sessions not just with a kinesiologist but with someone in whom she trusted—someone who, in turn, did both arthritis treatments and also what she saw as ‘psychic healing.’
Complainant Says Hayler Texted ‘I Love You Goodnight’ After Alleged Rape
In a previous hearing, the complainant stated she had been the victim of the incidents described in court and added that Kieran Hayler had sent the following text, which she quoted as, “I love you goodnight,” right after the second alleged rape. She stated that she had replied, “I love you too.” She informed the NSPCC of the case in 2021, which in turn alerted the police, leading to an inquiry. At his first police interview in January 2022, Hayler was questioned about the allegations but said he was not involved sexually at any level. The charges are said to have been committed against a girl 13 years of age at the time and include three rapes and one sexual assault. Sussex Police had already confirmed Hayler’s arrest and charges for these crimes. As required by law, the identity of the complainant is not disclosed, and she has been cared for by specially trained officers throughout.
Katie Price Expected To Be Called As Witness In Kieran Hayler Trial
Jurors were notified of the possibility that Katie Price, mother of five and an influential media star, may witness the case. Judge Mark Van Der Zwart characterized Price as a media figure that the jurors probably knew.
Hayler and Price came up together in 2012, and he surprised her by getting down on one knee to offer marriage on Christmas Day of that year. They tied the knot at a posh Caribbean resort in 2013 and ultimately decided to part.
Kieran Hayler has, from the first moment, rejected all the allegations. In a former statement to him, his lawyer said he “has firmly denied everything he was alleged to have done.” The lawyer also pointed out that he voluntarily gave assistance to the investigators at the police station and that one of his most urgent matters was to go through the judicial courts to remove that negative label from him.
