Reluctant Consent

by Margaret Barnes

  ‘They argued a lot?’ Cassie said.

  ‘They seemed to. Rose, that’s Emma’s mother, seemed very restrictive for a girl of Emma’s age. Not really wanting her to have friends she didn’t know.’

  ‘By friends do you mean boyfriends?’

  ‘Yes. That was one of the reasons she came to me so much. She kept clothes she could wear on dates at mine.’

  ‘Was this the first time she’d brought a man back to your flat?’

  Again, Anita hesitated. ‘No, no it wasn’t.’

  ‘Did she sometimes bring men to your flat without you being there?’

  ‘I don’t know … I don’t think it was the first time.’

  Judge Tyte intervened. ‘Where is this going, Miss Hardman?’

  ‘I’m not pursuing this any further, My Lord.’ Cassie turned back to the witness. ‘When Emma asked if she could bring Sadler to your flat, you told her you were going out. Did you say what time you expected to be back?’

  ‘I didn’t know myself.’ She breathed deeply. ‘Sometimes I stay the night with my friend. I didn’t know.’

  ‘Did Emma know you might be out all night?’

  ‘She might have, but I don’t think so. She would have expected me back.’

  ‘You know Emma quite well. Did you get the impression anything was wrong?’

  ‘I was surprised she didn’t want to talk about him.’ Anita looked towards the dock and then back at Cassie. ‘If she’s quite keen she does go on about them. She’d told me he was an attractive man and I expected her to be more enthusiastic.’

  ‘But she had other things on her mind?’

  ‘She was always tense when she and her mother argued.’

  ‘She declined his offer of walking her home. Did that surprise you?’

  ‘No. It didn’t. She wouldn’t risk her mother seeing her with a man.’

  After Anita had left the courtroom, Hugh had asked the usher to bring the next witness, Rose Gilbrook, into court. The doors to the courtroom were held open as the usher called out the witness’s name. Was an argument with her mother the reason Emma Gilbrook had alleged Paul Sadler had raped her? Diverting attention away from herself? There was always that question – why would any woman complain of rape if it wasn’t true? Was falling out with your mother sufficient reason?

  Instead of the witness coming into court, the usher returned and said there was no answer. Judge Tyte scowled but agreed on a short break for Hugh to find the witness and the court emptied. The usher, flapping around in her gown, said she knew he wanted to make a few telephone calls so they would have time for a coffee. Cassie made her way upstairs to the Bar Mess. She didn’t enjoy these cases at all and any respite from thinking about them was welcome. She sipped her coffee and looked at the newspapers, but before too long the tannoy called her back into court.

  As Cassie approached Court 11 along the marble-clad concourse she saw a woman wearing a bright red jacket hovering outside the courtroom doors. The women had her back towards Cassie but then she turned to face her. She was not as tall as her daughter and her hair was darker, but there was no doubt in Cassie’s mind who she was. In order to avoid meeting the witness, Cassie changed direction and went to stand by the windows overlooking the street. She kept an eye on Rose Gilbrook as the woman looked around her, patting her head as if her hair was out of place. Rose Gilbrook started back along the gallery towards where Cassie was standing. Cassie didn’t want to have any eye contact with the witness so she turned away. Then Cassie saw DC Pomfrey coming towards them. When Rose Gilbrook and DC Pomfrey met, they had a short conversation. Mrs Gilbrook turned and took a long look at Cassie, until DC Pomfrey took her arm and led her towards the courtroom doors.

  ‘I’m just going to show Mrs Gilbrook the courtroom if that’s ok,’ DC Pomfrey said. Cassie assumed the comment was directed towards her although they were some distance apart. The court usher came through the door from the courtroom; she was frowning and pulling on her black gown. Cassie thought she was cross her break had been curtailed by the policewoman’s request to show Mrs Gilbrook the court.

  Cassie waited until Mrs Gilbrook was in the concourse again and made her way to her seat in the courtroom. Lee was already sitting in the seat behind her.

  ‘Did you see the mother? I’m sure she’s the problem. Can’t stand the thought of her baby having sex. What twenty-year-old hasn’t been at it for years?’ Lee said.

  ‘I suppose the argument with her mother was the start of the complaint.’

  ‘It was mum who phoned the police.’

  ‘It usually is somebody else though, isn’t it?’

  ‘I suppose so. But … did she ask her daughter if that’s what she wanted, rather than assume it was? Is that a reasonable line of questioning?’

  Cassie made a note on the witness statement in front of her. ‘I think it is. Poor Emma doesn’t get asked what she wants.’

  ‘Sometimes you don’t need to ask. I think he’s innocent. Don’t you?’

  Cassie turned away. It wasn’t her job to second guess the jury. Her own life had left her uncertain about making what might seem the obvious conclusion.

  Rose Gilbrook looked towards the dock as soon as she came into the court. Of course, she’d never seen Paul Sadler before. Had she hesitated a little as she saw the man at the back of the court? What did she think a rapist looked like? Some hulk of a man throwing his weight around? That certainly didn’t fit Paul Sadler. What Marcus had said about ‘fair labelling’ flitted through Cassie’s thoughts.

  Judge Tyte leant forward towards the witness box, making an unusual effort to put Rose Gilbrook at ease. Hugh Palmer smiled at Rose too. He began his questioning by asking her to describe what had happened before her daughter had made the allegation of rape. Rose Glbrook told the court how her daughter had come home in the early hours of the morning. When the time came for her to leave for work she was still sound asleep. Emma’s boss had phoned, asking where Emma was and saying something about a blouse she’d got. She had gone into Emma’s bedroom and woken her up. The two had argued. Emma became upset, began to cry and screamed she had been raped. Rose had immediately called the police, and they had taken over.

  Cassie found Rose Gilbrook formidable. Her mouth was set in a permanent grimace and her eyes were steely. She refused to look at Cassie, concentrating on the jury box.

  ‘You’ve told the jury you argued that morning – did you argue frequently?’ Cassie said.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘What about?’

  ‘What’s it to do with him raping her? My daughter wouldn’t lie.’

  ‘Did you argue about things like sharing chores in the home?’

  ‘She doesn’t always pull her weight. I think she should do more.’

  ‘Do you argue about her social life – does she go out too much?’

  ‘If she wants to get on she needs to do more of her college work. Always the same at school – doesn’t want to study. Always wants her own way.’

  ‘And not afraid to say so?’

  Rose Gilbrook had turned away from the jury and looked at Cassie. Cassie asked a few more questions about the argument in which Emma had made the allegation, but Mrs Gilbrook’s replies became monosyllabic. Most of the time she repeated that her daughter would not lie. Just as Cassie was about to move on to the telephone call Sadler had made the next day, Rose Gilbrook said, ‘My daughter wouldn’t tell lies. She’s innocent, a virgin.’

  Although Cassie knew that was not true – Emma had told the medical examiner she had had sexual intercourse with other men before Paul Sadler – she ignored the comment. She and Hugh would sort that issue out without disabusing Rose Gilbrook about her daughter’s sex life.

  ‘When Emma said she had been raped, did you talk to her about what had happened?’

  ‘No. I didn’t. I phoned the police.’

  ‘You didn’t ask her if she wanted the police involved?’

  ‘I wanted the police involved. Nobody does that to my
daughter and gets away with it.’

  Cassie looked at the jury; the woman with the bright green glasses was knitting her eyebrows together and one of the younger men looked perplexed.

  Cassie then asked her about the phone call from Sadler the next day. She stared at Cassie, her eyes piercing. ‘Cheek. He knew what he’d done and was going to try and talk her out of going to the police.’

  ‘Did he say that?’

  ‘Not those words.’

  ‘What words did he use?’

  ‘He asked to speak to Emma. I told him to get lost …’ Rose paused. ‘Actually I used stronger language than that. Wouldn’t you if your daughter had been raped?’

  Judge Tyte had intervened. ‘Mrs Gilbrook, I understand you are finding this distressing, but Miss Hardman has to ask these questions. Do you understand?’

  Rose Gilbrook said she did and the judge indicated Cassie was to continue.

  ‘Mrs Gilbrook, isn’t it right that when you found out who was phoning you swore at him and threatened him. He was unable to say very much at all.’

  ‘I was very angry. He was trying to arrange to see her. I didn’t want that.’

  ‘Didn’t he say something about his work shift?’

  ‘Something about work. Can’t really remember.’

  ‘You didn’t want to listen to him, did you?’

  ‘No, I didn’t.’

  ‘Did you at any time tell Emma he had phoned her?’

  ‘Of course not. I didn’t want to upset her anymore.’

  Cassie thanked the witness and told the judge she had no more questions.

  Chapter 25

  Before the officer who had interviewed Paul Sadler was called, Cassie asked for the jury to be kept out of court as she had an application to make. She intended to object to part of the interviews. ‘My Lord, in the course of the second interview by DI Crawford and DC Pomfrey, the defendant lied about placing other messages in the Rush Hour Crush column of the Metro. The police discovered these further messages when they searched his computer and his mobile phone. They believed he had placed those notices in order to meet other women who he could sexually assault. There is no evidence to support that allegation.’

  ‘Have enquiries been made about these other approaches?’ Judge Tyte said.

  ‘Yes, they have. Both the police and those instructing me have spoken to those women who did contact the defendant and not one of them had been assaulted. There had been no attempt by the defendant to assault them or press his attentions on them.’

  ‘Mr Palmer. Did the police take statements?’

  ‘They did, My Lord.’

  ‘I would like to see them please.’

  DC Pomfrey rushed forward and handed a set of papers to the usher. Once they were in front of him, the judge told them to sit down while he read them. Cassie took her copies from the files and read through them.

  Paul Sadler had placed six requests and had three replies, not counting Emma. The first woman described ringing him regularly but she’d not wanted to meet him because she was in a relationship already. Sadler had told Cassie during a conference some time before the trial he thought she was a bit of an oddball. The second woman said they had gone to a coffee bar in Hammersmith. Sadler was a perfect gentleman. They had spent about an hour in the coffee shop and then parted. She wasn’t surprised when he didn’t arrange to see her again. She wasn’t really interested, she said. Lee had got the same message but said she wasn’t sure the woman was telling the truth. She had been quite animated when she was talking about him. The third woman saw him twice, as he had told the police. She had said he was courteous at all times and she was disappointed when she realised he didn’t want to continue to meet.

  When he had finished reading, the judge looked up. ‘Yes, Miss Hardman.’

  ‘Furthermore, the officer put these further messages to the defendant without informing his solicitor about them. If Your Lordship looks at page five of the second interview …’

  She gave him time to read the passage.

  M/s Shaw. What are these? I’ve not been shown these. I don’t think …

  Sadler. I didn’t place those notices.

  M/s Shaw. I need some time with my client if you are going to persist in asking him questions about these notices.

  DI Crawford. Do you want to speak to your solicitor?

  Sadler. They’re not mine.

  DI Crawford. I have here a statement from an employee of the newspaper confirming the contact number is the same as your mobile.

  Sadler. No comment.

  M/s Shaw. I’d like to speak to my client alone.

  Lee had told Cassie that DI Crawford and DC Pomfrey had turned off the recording machine and left the room. Once they had gone, Paul Sadler had admitted he had placed the other notices and had denied doing so because he felt embarrassed. He’d used the column in the newspaper like a dating agency.

  Judge Tyte fingered the edges of the documents. ‘I see. What do you have to say, Mr Palmer? It does seem to me that in the absence of any evidence to support the proposition that Sadler placed these … notices for the purpose of meeting women to assault the lie has no evidential value. I am mindful of the direction I should have to give the jury.’

  ‘I would argue the lie shows he had something to hide.’

  ‘I suspect Miss Hardman would then want to call the women the police interviewed. Miss Hardman, I’m going to allow your application. Do you need time to amend the jury transcripts, Mr Palmer?’

  ‘Yes, My Lord.’

  It took over an hour for the transcripts to be prepared. The six new copies were handed to Cassie and she and Lee checked them, making sure the correct part of the interviews had been redacted. The copies were then passed to the jury, some of whom searched for glasses in pockets or handbags. When they were ready, Hugh asked for DI Crawford to come into court.

  The inspector had a hawk-like gaze and thin lips which he pressed together. Cassie thought he looked angry. She knew from the tapes of the interviews that he was a bit of a bully. Lee had said he was high on his own testosterone. Cassie wondered if he had daughters who he feared might be assaulted.

  He read the transcript in a voice heavy with sarcasm. Cassie watched the jury when he came to the questions about the age difference between Sadler and Emma Gilbrook. Although there were some worried looks, she thought they didn’t see the age gap as very important. Perhaps the witness’s admission she had lied about her age diminished their concerns.

  Throughout both interviews Paul Sadler had been insistent Emma had consented to have sexual intercourse with him. When Crawford was reading the last reply, he lowered his voice. Judge Tyte asked him to repeat the answer.

  ‘Sadler said, “I would not have persisted if she had said she didn’t want to. I liked her. I wanted to keep on seeing her, not blow it by forcing myself on her.”’

  It was a good note to end on for Sadler’s defence.

  Chapter 26

  Immediately after DI Crawford had given his evidence, Hugh Palmer got to his feet. ‘My Lord, there is some housekeeping to deal with before I close the prosecution case. I don’t think we need to trouble the jury with it.’

  ‘Members of the jury, the prosecution case is nearly over, but there are a few matters to sort out before we move on to the defence case. They concern timing and other things like that, so if you’d like to go now. We’ll start again tomorrow morning. Thank you,’ Judge Tyte said.

  The jury filed out and when the last one had left the court and the door was closed behind them, Hugh said, ‘There is the matter of Mrs Gilbrook’s evidence that her daughter had not have sexual intercourse before. If one looks at the forensic examiner’s statement, Miss Gilbrook told him she’d had sexual relations with other men. The jury have been left with the impression that the complainant was a virgin. Not surprisingly Miss Hardman wants that to be corrected.’

  ‘I suppose she is entitled to ask for that. What do you propose? Do you want to recall the daugh
ter?’

  Cassie stood up. ‘If my learned friend would make an admission in similar terms to the information Miss Gilbrook gave to the doctor that will suffice. Otherwise the complainant will have to be recalled.’

  ‘You’d have to ask for consent to put questions to her about her previous sexual history,’ Judge Tyte said.

  ‘I am aware of that. I would argue that it would be unfair to allow the jury to believe the young woman had not had sexual intercourse before.’

  ‘I think I would have to grant such an application. Mr Palmer, what do you have to say about this?’

  ‘I am prepared to make a suitable admission, My Lord.’

  ‘You should have kept more control of your witness, Mr Palmer. Now, before we adjourn, Miss Hardman, are you planning to call your client?’

  ‘Yes, My Lord. I should also say that I plan to call at least one character witness.’

  ‘Are you intending to assert Miss Gilbrook should have made her allegation to Miss Connor and the delay to the next morning suggests it is not true?’ Judge Tyte said.

  ‘I am not relying on the delay, but I do intend to comment on the circumstances in which the complaint arose.’

  ‘The argument with her mother?’

  ‘Yes, My Lord.’

  ‘Tomorrow morning.’

  Cassie asked Lee to tell their client to wait for her outside the courtroom and began to gather her papers together. Hugh was stomping around at the other end of the bench. ‘It wasn’t your fault. She was answering my questions,’ she said.

  ‘There’ll be grumbles about the admission, but I can’t see any way round it. What do you want me to say?’

  Sadler and Lee Shaw were waiting outside on the concourse. ‘Right, it won’t take long for the prosecution to close their case tomorrow and then you’ll be giving evidence. Do you have a copy of the statement you gave to Lee?’

  Sadler nodded to indicate he had.

  ‘Ok. Now read it through carefully to remind yourself what you said when the events were much fresher. Keep your answers short. I can’t lead you …’ Sadler frowned. ‘I can’t ask you questions that suggest the answer. If I want you to elaborate I’ll ask further questions. When Mr Palmer starts to question you again keep your answers short.’