Reluctant Consent

by Margaret Barnes

  ‘Ralph Tyte. Typical public school. Women either angels or whores. Nice girls don’t and all that.’

  ‘You went to one of those schools!’

  ‘Mine was co-ed.’ Marcus smirked and then looked up at the clock over the servery. ‘I’d better go.’

  Cassie left too. As she went down the spiral staircase towards the wide corridor outside the courts, she put on her wig. Often she didn’t wear it until just before she went into court, but today she wanted to hide in her professional persona. She was an advocate putting a client’s case; her own feelings were of no importance.

  She began her cross examination of Emma Gilbrook by asking her questions about her friendship with Anita Connor.

  ‘You met Miss Connor when you were still at school, didn’t you?’

  ‘I wanted a Saturday job in a fashion shop. She was the manager for a small independent in Westbourne Grove. I went to work there. We became friends.’

  ‘She’s some years older than you?’

  ‘Ten years older. She was more interesting than my school friends.’

  ‘Would it be right that you sought her advice about your career?’

  ‘She helped me get my current job.’

  ‘A job you enjoy?’

  ‘Very much.’

  ‘You sought Miss Connor’s advice about meeting Paul Sadler, did you not?’

  ‘I showed her the message in the newspaper column.’

  ‘Did you say you were thinking of contacting the man in the grey suede jacket?’

  ‘We discussed it. I described him and she said it might be a good laugh, but I should stick to coffee and cake as the message said.’

  ‘There was no suggestion that it might be dangerous?’

  Emma Gilbrook shook her head. ‘I didn’t think so.’

  ‘You met Paul Sadler twice before the evening of the ninth of March and throughout those two meetings he did nothing to make you frightened or worried about his behaviour?’

  ‘I wouldn’t have agreed to see him again if there had been. I’ve said he made me laugh a lot. We got on well.’

  ‘Can you remember what you talked about?’

  ‘Work. Clothes and music.’

  ‘Nothing about previous relationships?’

  ‘I think he mentioned a long-term girlfriend but she had gone to live abroad.’

  ‘Did he tell you how old he was?’

  ‘We played a guessing game.’

  ‘You knew he was twenty-nine?’

  ‘Yes, I guessed correctly.’

  ‘He asked you if you were twenty-one and you said no, and he then said twenty-four and you agreed?’

  ‘Yes, I did.’

  ‘Why was that?’

  ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘Did you want him to think you were more grown up than you were?’

  ‘I don’t know why I said it.’

  ‘Anita Connor is about ten years older than you. Do you like having friends older than yourself?’

  ‘They’re more interesting. They’ve done more.’

  ‘You wanted to be more interesting to Paul Sadler?’

  ‘I suppose so.’ Emma dragged out the words. Cassie took the opportunity to glance at the jury. She saw a woman with dark curly hair and glasses with bright green rims in the front row; she was leaning forward, her elbows on the bench and her head propped on her hands. There was no time to make any assessment of the woman’s attitude to the evidence she was hearing.

  ‘Were you looking forward to the night out with Paul at Kensington Place?’ Cassie asked.

  ‘I thought it would be a nice evening.’

  ‘You had told Anita Connor you were meeting him and you suggested taking him to her flat. She told you she was going out that night and she wasn’t sure when she would be back.’

  ‘I don’t …’ Emma looked around the room and sucked her lips. ‘I don’t remember that.’

  ‘Didn’t you say that didn’t matter? You’d take Paul Sadler to her flat and if she turned up before you left she could meet him?’

  ‘Possibly.’

  ‘You knew she was unlikely to be there but it would give you time alone with Paul. You couldn’t take him home, could you?’

  Emma looked behind her as if she was checking who could hear her. DC Pomfrey was sitting under the public gallery, her face impassive. Was Emma looking for help from the policewoman? Cassie couldn’t tell.

  ‘No, I couldn’t.’

  ‘Is that because your mother is disapproving of you having a boyfriend?’

  ‘She thinks I’m too young.’

  ‘Do you think you are too young?’

  ‘Of course not.’

  The reply was firm and brisk. That was good. Emma Gilbrook was showing she had some fight in her. She wasn’t and wouldn’t have been submissive.

  ‘When you went to Miss Connor’s flat that night you anticipated having some time alone with Paul Sadler before she came home. You would not have done that if there had been any reason to be afraid of him, would you?’

  ‘I wasn’t afraid of him.’

  ‘Before this evening the only physical contact between you was him kissing you at the bus stop?’

  ‘That’s right.’

  ‘There was some chemistry between you?’

  Cassie liked the word chemistry; it suggested people behaved like atoms obeying immutable laws of attraction. That was what her question implied.

  ‘I guess so … there was a feeling … we were alike or something.’

  ‘You found him a very attractive man?’

  Emma paused, clearly struggling to find an answer, then said, ‘I … most women would.’

  ‘During the evening in the restaurant, you held hands across the table? Paul Sadler was attentive?’

  ‘He was very nice to me.’

  ‘I want to show you a photograph.’ Cassie picked up a bundle of pictures from behind her and handed them to the usher, who gave one to Judge Tyte, one to Hugh Palmer, and the rest she distributed round the jury. ‘That’s a selfie taken in the restaurant?’

  ‘I’m not sure if it’s a selfie. One of the waiters may have taken it. I don’t remember.’

  ‘But it was taken in the restaurant?’

  Emma Gilbrook looked at the photo and a thin smile passed across her lips. Cassie looked at the jury. This time the curly haired woman was looking at the photograph and then at the witness, clearly comparing the two. Emma Gilbrook put the photograph down. ‘It was taken in the restaurant that evening.’

  ‘After you had eaten, he suggested going on to a club, but you said you didn’t want to be late but if he would like you could go to your friend’s flat?’

  ‘Yes. He agreed. I told him Anita would probably be there.’

  ‘Paul Sadler wasn’t unhappy about that?’

  ‘He didn’t appear to be.’

  ‘You let yourself in with a key. You didn’t ring the doorbell or knock on the door?’

  ‘I had a key. Why would I ring the bell?’

  ‘You didn’t ring the bell because you knew Anita Connor would not be there, isn’t that right?’

  ‘I … don’t remember if I rang the bell or not. It didn’t matter if Anita was there or not.’

  ‘You knew she wouldn’t be there because she told you she was going out.’

  ‘I’ve said I don’t remember her saying that. I know she says she told me, but I don’t …’

  ‘You don’t remember because you were taking this man back to her flat so that you could be alone with him, not to introduce him to your friend, isn’t that so?’

  Emma shook her head and repeated that she couldn’t remember.

  ‘You wanted to pursue your relationship with Paul Sadler in private, didn’t you?’

  Emma shook her head. ‘I don’t think … I don’t know.’

  ‘You made some coffee?’

  ‘Yes. I did.’

  ‘Despite Anita not being there?’

  ‘I knew where the coffee was.’
/>   ‘After you’d had your coffee, Paul put his arm round you and you began kissing? That was entirely mutual?’

  ‘I told him to stop when he put his hand between my legs.’

  ‘You responded when he was kissing you?’

  ‘Yes, but that was as far as I wanted it to go.’

  ‘You didn’t stop him from touching your breast over your blouse and then under it?’

  ‘I can’t remember what I said to him. I didn’t want him to touch me there so I must have said something like stop.’

  ‘You said nothing at this stage. That’s right isn’t it?’

  Emma put her head down and mumbled.

  Judge Tyte said, ‘Can you please speak up, we need to hear you.’ And then, ‘Members of the jury, the microphone doesn’t amplify – it is simply to record what’s said.’

  Emma apologised and said she didn’t recall what she had told Sadler, if anything.

  ‘He continued caressing your breasts for a little while and then you both stood up, he took your hand and you went with him into the bedroom?’

  ‘The door of the bedroom was open. He could see the bed.’

  ‘He didn’t use any force to get you to go into the bedroom?’

  ‘No. I dragged my feet a bit.’

  ‘But not enough that he had to use any force to make you go with him, did he?’

  ‘I guess not.’

  ‘You both lay on the bed. He didn’t push you down or threaten you to get you to lie on the bed?’

  Emma wiped her eyes and then put her hands on the edge of the witness box. She had a tissue in her right hand and she was picking at it, tearing small pieces from it that floated down to the carpet. ‘No, nothing like that.’

  ‘You didn’t have to lie on the bed, did you?’

  ‘I didn’t know what to do.’

  ‘Your jeans – how did he get them off?’

  ‘He unzipped them and pulled them down.’

  ‘Can we have exhibit two please,’ Cassie said. DC Leanne Pomfrey got up and went to the exhibit table, picked up a brown exhibit bag and handed it to Hugh Palmer. He tore the bag open and pulled out a pair of dark denim jeans. He passed them to the usher who went to stand by the witness box.

  ‘Are those the jeans?’ Cassie said.

  ‘They are,’ Emma replied.

  ‘How would you describe them?’

  ‘They’re slim fitting. They have a zip at the ankle.’

  ‘Is that because they are very tight?’

  ‘They are tight, yes.’

  ‘I’ve got another photograph here. Is that you wearing those jeans?’

  Copies of the photograph were handed round the court. It showed Emma Gilbrook wearing a pair of jeans that fitted as if they had been painted onto her. Emma said it was.

  ‘Did Paul Sadler use one hand or two to pull them down?’

  ‘Two hands.’

  ‘He wasn’t holding your arms down.’

  ‘Just the weight of his body.’

  ‘Your hands were free – you could have pushed him away from you or at least tried to, but you didn’t, did you?’

  ‘I don’t know why I didn’t push him away.’

  ‘Let me help you. You didn’t push him away because you helped him take your jeans off. You rolled them round your bottom and then undid one of the zips on the ankle while he undid the other.’

  Emma made no attempt to reply to the statement. She looked round the courtroom, up at the judge, and then put her head down and began to shake. Judge Tyte lowered his voice. ‘Do you want a break?’ Emma shook her head. The judge looked at Cassie and indicated she was to continue.

  ‘Paul Sadler put his hands between your thighs and his fingers into your vagina?’

  ‘I told him to stop.’

  ‘Your blouse, you took that off and your bra. When you removed them where did you put them?’

  ‘I … let them fall to the floor. I was on the bed.’

  ‘But you didn’t want the blouse damaged, did you?’

  ‘No, I didn’t.’

  ‘Yet you dropped it on the floor?’

  ‘I’m not sure, I …’

  ‘Didn’t you get off the bed and put them on a chair by the dressing table?’

  ‘I don’t remember. I might have done.’

  ‘You knew he wanted to have sex with you, didn’t you?’

  ‘By this time, yes, I did.’

  ‘But knowing he did you got up, removed your blouse and placed it on a chair.’

  ‘I’ve explained I didn’t want it to get spoilt. Damaged.’

  ‘You went back to the bed?’

  Emma Gilbrook looked down, took a handkerchief from a pocket and wiped her eyes.

  ‘Miss Hardman, I think it would be better if we took a short break now, before you continue,’ the judge said.

  ‘As you please, My Lord,’ she replied, although she knew it would give the witness time to compose herself a little and she wanted to get this part over with.

  As Emma Gilbrook walked towards the door, the judge said, ‘Don’t talk to anybody about your evidence, please.’

  Chapter 3

  Cassie walked over to the windows that looked over the street. The clouds were a dark grey and the pavements wet. Cross examining a young woman like Emma Gilbrook was distasteful. She found herself examining her own sexual experiences, as she had so often when she defended in a rape trial. As her understanding of her own needs and desires had broadened so she had become more aware of how much physical contact she could or would tolerate. She enjoyed the physicality of a sexual relationship. Was that how Emma Gilbrook felt, or was she unsure of her reaction to Paul Sadler’s touch? These were intensely personal and private matters. Cassie would not have wanted them investigated under the bright lights of the courtroom. The usher distracted her train of thought, calling her back into court.

  Cassie continued her cross examination. ‘You were naked on the bed with Paul Sadler on top of you, and he again put his fingers into your vagina. He asked you if you were enjoying it?’

  ‘I didn’t want him to do that.’

  ‘What did you say in answer to his question?’

  ‘I said … nothing.’ Emma put her head down but she wasn’t crying as far as Cassie could see.

  ‘Sadler got up and took off his jeans and underpants.’

  ‘Yes, his penis was erect.’ Emma paused and then turned towards Cassie. ‘I know what you’re going to say. Why didn’t you get up? I don’t know. He told me to stay where I was.’

  ‘He didn’t use any force or threaten you, did he?’

  ‘He told me to stay on the bed.’

  ‘And you do everything you’re told to do, do you?’ Cassie could hear the sarcasm in her own voice. She didn’t like doing this but she had a duty to her client. There was no reply from the witness. Cassie repeated the question a little more gently.

  ‘No, I don’t do everything I’m told to do.’

  ‘You could have got up and put your clothes back on.’

  ‘I could, but …’

  ‘You didn’t. Could you see Sadler from where you were on the bed?’

  ‘He went to his jacket and took the condom from his pocket.’

  ‘You saw that, so it was obvious he was intending to have intercourse with you, yet you stayed on the bed?’

  ‘I had been told to stay there.’

  ‘You weren’t forced to stay there?’

  ‘No, no I wasn’t.’

  ‘After he opened the packet containing the condom he was standing by the bed struggling to get it on his penis and you helped him do that?’

  Emma Gilbrook didn’t reply. ‘You helped him put the condom on?’

  ‘Yes. I knew what was going to happen … I though it better. I was protected.’

  Cassie paused and looked towards the jury. The eldest of the female jurors was shaking her head. Two of the other women were looking puzzled as well. She hoped they were finding this part of the evidence unbelievable.

>   ‘Afterwards you lay with Sadler on the bed. He went to the bathroom. Was he in there for a few minutes?’

  ‘He was.’ Emma Gilbrook shrugged her shoulders and stared at Cassie before dropping her head.

  ‘You had the time to get up and put your clothes on?’

  ‘I suppose so, but I didn’t.’

  ‘He got on the bed and put his arm round you and pulled you on top of his body without any protest from you?’

  ‘I didn’t resist.’

  ‘You were straddling his body and you had sexual intercourse with him in that position, didn’t you?’

  ‘He had sexual intercourse with me.’

  ‘You were totally cooperating with him and consenting to having intercourse, weren’t you?’

  ‘I did not want to have intercourse with Paul Sadler.’

  ‘You both got dressed and went into the sitting room and Sadler said he was working over the weekend but he would contact you during the next week. You said that was fine?’

  ‘He did say something like that. I didn’t want to see him again.’

  ‘You were still in the living room when Anita came back, and soon after Paul Sadler left?’

  ‘I went home. I went to bed and the next morning I told my mother what had happened.’

  ‘Was that the first thing you said to your mother – that you’d been raped?’

  ‘I … don’t know.’

  ‘Let me help you. The next morning you overslept and your mother came into your bedroom to wake you up. You told her to go away, but she dragged the bedclothes off you and you began to argue with her.’

  ‘I wanted to be left alone.’

  ‘The two of you argued about the time you came in and where and who you’d been with?’

  ‘She was going on at me.’

  ‘So you told her you’d been raped?’

  ‘It was true.’

  ‘Was it? Isn’t the truth you were very attracted to Paul Sadler? You were aroused by him and responded to his lovemaking?’

  ‘I didn’t want to have sex with him.’

  ‘You agreed to have sexual intercourse with him.’

  ‘I didn’t want to …’

  Cassie sat down. The worst part of the trial was over. Emma Gilbrook would leave the courtroom and Cassie wouldn’t have to think about her again.

  Chapter 4

  Six weeks later