Katie Price 'angry' on hearing ex-husband's rape allegation, alleged victim's mother tells court
At Lewes Crown Court in England, the trial continues of Kieran Hayler, ex-husband of British media personality Katie Price, who is accused of three rapes and a sexual assault on a 13-year-old girl. The girl's mother testified that Price reacted with anger.
The mother of a girl allegedly raped as a teenager has told Lewes Crown Court in England that Katie Price, the former glamour model, seemed "angry" when told of the allegations against her then-husband. Kieran Hayler is on trial accused of three counts of rape and one of sexual assault against a girl who was 13 at the time, in West Sussex in 2016. He denies all the charges. The mother gave evidence on Thursday.
Mother's account of Price's reaction
The woman said that when she told Price, the response was "quite angry" and she did not feel Price was particularly upset for her daughter. She said she felt Price was angry and feeling revengeful towards Hayler. The mother explained she told Price because she felt she "had to".
She said her daughter did not want anyone to know, and the two fell out after Price was told, which she accepted caused arguments.
Changes in the girl's behaviour
The jury heard that a year after the alleged rapes, the girl told her mother that Hayler had "done everything to her". She did not say more, and her mother did not press her because she was so distressed. The mother noticed her daughter becoming more withdrawn and showering about four times a day, scrubbing her skin. The girl told her she felt dirty all the time.
Report to police
In 2021 the complainant contacted the NSPCC, the UK children's protection charity, which referred her to police, prompting the investigation. The mother said that when her daughter told her she had reported it, she still had not been told exactly what had happened.
Defence position
The court heard Hayler has suggested his ex-wife "launched a campaign" against him when their marriage ended, and that the allegations formed part of it. He was married to Price at the time of the alleged offences; the relationship broke down in 2018 and they divorced in 2021. The complainant is not part of either Hayler's or Price's extended families. The trial continues.
