Woman denies kissing footballers

George Barker, arriving at the Old Bailey, London, who along with three other footballers is accused of sexual assault and voyeurism
23 January 2013

A woman has denied getting into a hotel bed voluntarily with two footballers.

The 21-year-old also refuted a defence suggestion that she tried to kiss and cuddle George Barker and Anton Rodgers who were dressed in their boxer shorts.

The woman has accused four members of Brighton and Hove Albion football club of assaulting her while she was passed out in a hotel room in Brighton.

The prosecution at the Old Bailey alleges the players took mobile phone photographs showing lewd scenes. The woman has admitted telling lies to police and her employers but maintains she is telling the truth about having no recollection of what went on in the room.

Mark Cotter, defending Barker, said: "I suggest to you that Mr Rodgers and Mr Barker were in the double bed in their boxer shorts and you got into bed between them. I suggest you initiated an attempt to kiss and cuddle Mr Rodgers and then did the same with Mr Barker."

The woman replied: "I definitely did not."

Mr Cotter suggested she was "a prolific liar" who had lied about photographs she had seen on a mobile phone. Asked if she had "seriously exaggerated" the contents of pictures, she answered: "It was humiliating and they should not have done it. They have to live with it."

Brighton players Anton Rodgers, 19, Lewis Dunk, 21, and George Barker, 21, and former team-mate Steve Cook, 21, who now plays for Bournemouth, deny sexual assault and voyeurism. The offence is alleged to have taken place in July 2011 at the Jurys Inn hotel in Brighton after the club's victory in a cup match.

The only picture found on the men's phones was of Barker posing by his initials in foam on the woman's thigh.

Shown the picture in court, the woman said it was not the picture she saw, which had shown her underwear pulled up. The woman, who was 19 at the time, said she had been drinking in clubs but denied she had 15 shots of alcohol before passing out. The trial was adjourned to Thursday.

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