Katie Price’s ex-husband, Kieran Hayler, has today gone on trial accused of carrying out three rapes, as well as a separate sex assault. He denies all of the charges
Katie Price’s ex-husband raped and sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl while he was married to the TV personality, a court has heard.
Kieran Hayler, 39, who denies all of the charges against him, has today gone on trial accused of carrying out three rapes, as well as a separate sex assault, on the youngster at an address in West Sussex between June and October 2016. Price, 48, who was married to the defendant from 2013 until 2021, is due to give evidence in court later this week.
Opening the case, prosecutor Ryan Richter told Lewes Crown Court: “This is a case of rape. The prosecution alleges that Mr Hayler used his personality and charm, firstly to win the friendship and then the trust of a 13-year-old girl. The prosecution says when he had developed that trust, he then used that trust to sexually abuse and rape her.
“It is the prosecution’s case that Mr Hayler went on to befriend her and began to seek out spending time with her. The complainant says he began to touch her, seemingly innocently enough at first, touching her hand or brushing past her. But it then progressed to other matters. He would start running his hands up her leg or trying to hug her. He built up, the prosecution says, a bond with her.”
Describing the first alleged rape, Mr Richter said: “He sat down and began to speak to her. He told her how he really liked her. He then spoke to her about sex. He described it to her. He told her it was a special thing and told her they should do it. He said to her that they should do it.“The prosecution alleges that sort of activity happened on two further occasions. On the second occasion, she remembers being in bed asleep and woke up to find Mr Hayler was lying on top of her…She said she didn’t really know what was happening, but after a few minutes, Mr Hayler stopped and left.
“On a third occasion, she was again asleep when Mr Hayler woke her up. He told her to ‘Shhh’ and then picked her up.” It’s alleged that Hayler carried her to another room in the house. “He laid her down on a grey rug that was on the floor and again raped her. She remembers it lasting much longer on this occasion.”
Mr Richter added: “On the third occasion, she remembers sitting with Mr Hayler on a sofa. He told her, as they sat together, not to tell anyone about what had been happening because he might get into trouble. While they were speaking together, he grabbed her hand.” Mr Richter added that Hayler played the victim’s hand inside his trousers.
“Later on Mr Hayler telephoned her. She remembers him asking her in the telephone conversation if she had told anyone about what had happened. He told her Katie Price had seen some text messages that they had sent between them and that she was suspicious. He told her that ‘nothing could get out’.
“She was later to describe how she did not know quite what to make of the attention. She said as a 13-year-old girl she felt he cared for her and she didn’t feel that he would do anything horrible to her.”
“She did describe though that she didn’t think it quite right what was happening. She remembers showering about four times on the day she got home after the first incident and she describes how she went through a period of changing her underwear about three times a day.
“As time went on she saw less of Mr Hayler and she began to think more about what had happened.” Mr Richter added: “In the summer of 2016, Kieran Hayler was about 29 years old. He was married to Katie Price, and their relationship was to break down in 2018, although by the summer of 2016, it seems already to have been under strain.
“Mr Hayler denies these allegations. He denies that anything sexual ever happened and she is simply making the allegations up. He suggests that behind these allegations lies his relationship with his ex-wife Katie Price and he says it is she who has launched, effectively, a campaign against him, of which this is a part.
“Over the next years, Mr Hayler and Katie Price separated, divorced, applied for custody of their children through the family courts, took new partners and were subject to much reporting. The breakdown of their relationship was played out and reported on frequently by the news media and social media.
“Mr Hayler alleges that these are important matters because he alleges that Katie Price set out in a campaign against him and that [the complainant], in making these allegations, is a part of that. You will no doubt consider that with care. “The prosecution say that there is no connection between the things that happened in the relationship and the allegations [by the complainant]. What [the complainant] is saying is not, the prosecution say, motivated by Katie Price.”
Mr Richter added: “The prosecution say you should be cautious and guard against being distracted by that troubled background that played out in the Press as their relationship ended.”
Mr Richter told the court the complainant first told her mother about the alleged abuse in August 2017 after her mum said she “reacted strangely, became pale, sat back and started to cry.” He said: “She told her mother then that ‘something had happened’.
“When her mother asked ‘What?’, she replied ‘He did things to me’ and ‘he pinned me down’. When she asked her what he had done, she replied to her mum ‘Well, he did everything to me, mum’.”
Mr Richter told the court that the girl’s mum later told Katie Price what her daughter had said. Mr Richter said: “Katie Price describes how one evening she had unlocked Kieran Hayler’s telephone with his finger while he was asleep.”
The prosecutor told how Ms Price described seeing text messages sent between Hayler and another woman, leading Ms Price to learn about an affair he was having. Mr Richter added: “She recollected seeing texts about [the complainant].”
Mr Richter said the complainant contacted children’s charity the NSPCC in 2021, when she was aged 18, before later speaking to police. Mr Richter said: “It was then, in 2021, when the press coverage of the breakdown of their relationship was still going on, that [the complainant] contacted the NSPCC charity to report what had happened to her.
“She had sent the emails to the charity and [the complainant] spoke to the police and gave them an account of what had happened. On January 26, 2022, Mr Hayler was interviewed about the allegations and, as I’ve told you, denied that any of them took place. He said that nothing sexual had ever occurred.”
Mr Richter said Mr Hayler had claimed that the girl’s mother had “effectively joined up” with Katie Price against him following their break up.” Mr Richter added: “He said he felt that something had been ‘created’ and that he was being set up. “Mr Hayler maintains his denial. He continues to allege that [the complainant] has invented these allegations and that Katie Price in a way lies behind them. He maintains that when their marriage ended, Ms Price set out in a campaign against him and that these allegations were made as a part of that and are entirely untrue.”
Hayler, a former reality TV star, was seen wearing a dark blue suit and an open-necked pink shirt while watching and listening to today’s hearing from the dock inside Court Two at Lewes Crown Court. He was flanked by a single female security officer.
His trial is expected to last seven days before the jury retire to consider their verdicts next week. The group of five men and seven women were formally sworn in on Monday morning before the trial began shortly after 2pm on Monday afternoon.Before being sworn in, each jury member was asked by officials if they follow Katie Price on social media. His Honour Judge Mark van der Zwart later told them: “A witness in this trial is the media personality Katie Price, of whom you are likely to have some knowledge and about whom there is a lot of information in the public domain, some of which may include information about the defendant.”
Judge van der Zwart told the jury they must not make any inquiries, including internet searches, about anyone involved in the case and must reach their verdicts solely on the facts they hear inside the courtroom. He added that while “there is bound to be press reporting of this case and press reporting is an important part of our principle of open justice”, the jury must not read it during the trial.
The jury was shown today part of a recorded police interview, the alleged victim gave detailing her claims at a police station in December 2021.
She was seen wiping away tears as she made the allegations against Hayler, which included her claiming he knew her age. She claimed that during a conversation about her year of birth, he had once remarked: “Oh, you’re a baby, aren’t you?” She added: “Compared to him. He said he was old compared to me.”
During the police interview, the girl was seen telling a female police officer: “I don’t remember exactly how old he was… I don’t know, 29 or something like that, 30. I know he’s a lot younger than her (Katie Price), that’s all I remember. At the start it was like nothing, it was just like talking and then him talking about what he used to do.
“He used to be a stripper and he just talked about his past life and he said his dad wasn’t very nice to him when he was younger. He just used to try and tell me a lot about him and what his past was.
“It started off with he would touch my hand or he would touch my leg or brush over my leg and I wouldn’t really think anything of it and then it kind of got more and more.”
Asked about the first time she claims Hayler raped her, the alleged victim told the police officer: “Unfortunately, I can’t really remember how it all started, but I just remember him having a conversation with me about sex and almost describing it to me as if it was a good thing and something I needed to do.
Obviously, it was my first time, so I didn’t really know what sex really was. I just remember him saying how special the first time was and how it was important.
“He started crying and saying, ‘Ooh, maybe I shouldn’t take it away from you. Its so important, it’s like so special’. I said ‘Well, let’s not do it then’ because I didn’t really understand what he was talking about and then all I remember him taking off his clothes and then he started taking off my clothes.”
She added: “I was very confused by the whole thing.” The alleged victim broke down as she told how she believes it was the first time she had seen a man naked, other than her dad. She said: “I don’t normally get upset. I think it’s just because I’m trying to explain it.”
She added: “I remember thinking ‘I’m probably a bit young.” The girl also described the second occasion she claims Hayler raped her. She alleged she woke up to find him having sex with her.
She said: “The second time it was the same position as the first time. His face was in my face. I woke up and he’s on top of me and his face is in my face. I didn’t say anything. I just laid there thinking ‘what’s going on?’.
“I think he was just rocking backwards and forth.” Asked about the third alleged rape, she said: “I’ve tried to forget it for so many years. I think he got on top of me and started having sex with me
“I think this went on for a lot longer than it had before.” She claims Hayler sexually assaulted her again the next day before warning her not to tell anyone what had happened.
She told officers: “He was like ‘you can’t talk about it, you can’t tell anyone, I might get in trouble for this’. I think he grabbed my hand… and put it down his trousers. I remember immediately pulling it back out while he was talking to me.
“He was trying to explain why he’d done it. He was trying to tell me when he was younger his dad wasn’t nice to him and he had a rough childhood and stuff like that and he had problems.
“He was trying to tell me why he did it. He was trying to get me to feel sorry for him almost.” She added: “I was about to turn 14.” The complainant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is expected to give evidence from behind a screen in court on Tuesday. She is not a member of Hayler or Price’s extended family. The trial continues.
If you are 18 or under and have been affected by this story, you can contact Childline, confidentially on 0800 1111. You can also contact the NSPCC Helpline by phoning 0808 800 500 or emailing help@nspcc.org.uk. If a child is in immediate danger, call 999.
If you’ve been the victim of sexual assault, you can access help and resources via www.rapecrisis.org.uk or calling the national telephone helpline on 0808 802 9999
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