Rape trial: alleged victim says Kieran Hayler texted 'I love you' after attack

A woman alleges Kieran Hayler raped her three times in 2016 when she was 13 and warned her to take the secret "to the grave". The trial at Lewes Crown Court is now in its second day.

Alleged victim recalls 'I love you' text from Kieran Hayler after third alleged rape

A woman alleges that Kieran Hayler, the former husband of Katie Price, sent her a text message reading "I love you, goodnight" immediately after raping her for the third time when she was 13 years old. She says she texted back "I love you too."

The claims were heard on the second day of Hayler's trial at Lewes Crown Court, as reported by The Argus. The complainant, now 23 and unable to be named for legal reasons, alleges the rapes took place in 2016 while Hayler and Price were living together in Sussex. Hayler denies all charges.

In a recorded police interview from December 2021, the woman said Hayler subsequently warned her by phone to stay silent. "You promise you won't tell anyone, what we had was special, you'll take it to the grave, if you do I'll get in trouble," she recalled him saying.

She told police she did not come forward out of fear, but out of concern for others. "I don't want to go down the line in 20 years and find he's done it to someone else," she said. She added that a news story describing Hayler as "an amazing dad" prompted a surge of anger that played a part in her decision to report the matter. She had contacted the NSPCC before being referred to police.

The woman described the psychological impact of the alleged assaults in detail. She said she initially kept the full extent of what happened from her mother. "I think I lied to her. I didn't want her to think that I was disgusting or be disappointed in me for what happened," she said. She told her mother only that Hayler had touched her, not that he had had sex with her, saying she did not want her mother to think she had "led him on".

"I thought it was my fault for ages," she said. "I kind of let him do it, so for ages I thought it was my fault. I thought I should have done more about it."

Her mother, she said, noticed a change in her behaviour following the alleged rapes. The woman described taking four showers a day and changing her underwear three times daily. "Not that I felt dirty, but I remember thinking he's a lot older than me and is this something I should be doing," she said. "I remember crying and thinking 'is this supposed to happen?'"

The complainant told police she had never spoken directly to Katie Price about the allegations, though an exchange of Instagram messages did take place. She said Price messaged her to say she knew she was going through a difficult time and offered her support. "I thought she would screenshot it and send it to Kieran, so I deleted it and blocked her," the woman said.

Hayler and Price divorced in 2021. The trial at Lewes Crown Court continues.

Source: The Argus