A woman allegedly raped by two Irish international rugby stars did not want to go to the police because she did not want to end up looking like a “stupid little girl”, a court has been told.
She was giving evidence for a second day at the trial of 26-year-old Paddy Jackson and his 24-year-old Ireland and Ulster team mate Stuart Olding.
Belfast Crown Court heard how the woman, who cannot be named to protect her identity, told a friend via text: “No, I do not want to get the police involved. You know how that will turn out.
Ireland and Ulster rugby player Paddy Jackson arrives at Belfast Crown Court (Liam McBurney/PA)
“It’s my word against theirs. Ulster Rugby will vouch for their good character and I’ll just look like a stupid little girl.”
The high profile case, scheduled for five weeks, is being heard by Judge Patricia Smyth.
Jackson, from Oakleigh Park in Belfast, and Olding, from Ardenlee Street in the city, deny raping the same woman at a house in south Belfast in June 2016.
Jackson denies a further charge of sexual assault.
Two other men have also been returned for trial on charges connected with the same incident alleged to have happened at an after-party following an evening in a Belfast nightclub on June 28, 2016.
Blane McIlroy, 26, from Royal Lodge Road, Ballydollaghan, Belfast, has pleaded not guilty to one count of exposure, while Rory Harrison, 25, from Manse Road, Belfast denies perverting the course of justice and withholding information.
The jury of nine men and three women also heard how the woman told her friends she felt there was “no point” in going to the police.
She wrote in another message to a pal: “No I do not want anyone to hear.
“I would just be embarrassed.”
During cross examination, Jackson’s defence barrister Brendan Kelly QC asked why the woman had not told friends that another female had walked into the bedroom as the alleged attack was happening.
He said: “Why did you not tell them about the witness?”
She replied: “Because the whole rape had been so traumatic that was what I had focussed on.
“The fact that someone had walked in was secondary.”
The woman later added: “Whenever the girl walked into the room, the stage that she walked in at, she had already missed the moment that those men crossed the line.
“She had not witnessed the blatant disregard for the fact that I did not want to have sex.”
The case continues.