AFTER presenting police with shocking videos of her partner raping her while she slept, Natalie Wilmerson was convinced he would be convicted.
But after a traumatic trial her violent ex James Pascoe was found not guilty of the sexual offences – leaving Natalie, 43, feeling lost and broken. So she exacted justice her own way.
Natalie Wilmerson’s ‘attacker’ was cleared by jury in a criminal trial but found guilty by judge at civil court Credit: SWNS
Her violent ex James Pascoe had sex with her while she was asleep Credit: SWNS
During the criminal trial, Pascoe claimed Natalie had engaged in ‘role play’ while she was sleeping and had ‘wanted’ the footage for an OnlyFans account that never existed.
But, while he was convicted of ABH and animal cruelty, over attacks on her son and her dog, he was acquitted on the rape charge so the secondary school worker, from of Hemel Hempstead, decided to sue him.
She spent hours building a civil case against him to represent herself in court – and said she felt ‘vindicated’ by a judge making a ruling that she had been a ‘victim of rape.’
Natalie sued Pascoe, now 33, for ‘seven rapes’ she claimed happened between 14 August and 2 September 2022 while she was “asleep and entirely unconscious”.
She produced evidence, including a voice recording sent by Pascoe in which he ‘admitted the rapes’. He had told the criminal court he was saying “whatever I could to make her happy”.
In her statement to the court, Natalie said she woke on the morning of 16 August 2022, during a family holiday in Spain, and believed her ex had sex with her whilst she was asleep.
She challenged the defendant the next morning and told the court: “I explained I did not consent, and he replied, ‘So you are saying I raped you?’”
She also described other occasions when the defendant had sexual intercourse with her while she was asleep and found eight separate videos, six of which were dated on different occasions between 15 and 24 August 2022, and two on a different date.
The court heard the videos showed the defendant having intercourse with her, but she said she had no recollection of the events.
A number of text messages and voice notes between them were also played in court, including one made on 9 November 2022, when he told her: “If you want to report me for rape, that is entirely up to you. I will put my hands up, and I will admit to it.”
Although she only sought £1,000, Natalie says it wasn’t a financial motivation but she wanted a judgment to recognise the impact Pascoe’s actions have had and to empower other rape victims who are “let down” by the justice system.
After the verdict, she said: “I want to show people you can still get justice even if the justice system lets you down.”
In awarding damages to Natalie, the judge wrote it was “more likely than not that it is the claimant’s account which is truthful and that the accounts given by the defendant are unpersuasive.”
Natalie said she felt lost and broken when Pascoe was freed following a criminal trial Credit: SWNS
He had claimed she had ‘wanted’ the footage for an Only Fans account that never existed Credit: SWNS
His Honour Judge Reissner recognised the differences in the burden of proof between a civil claim and a criminal one, which had to be only satisfied ‘on the balance of probabilities’.
He said: “I am satisfied on the balance of probabilities that Mr Pascoe admitted to the rapes during those recordings.”
He said he found Natalie to be a “truthful witness” and added he had “no reservation” in accepting her evidence.
The court heard police reviewed videos of Pascoe having sex with Natalie and described her as “immobile and unreactive.”
The judge added: “That, in my judgment, is entirely consistent with the claimant having been asleep at the time and therefore unable to consent to sexual intercourse.”
Despite not attending the hearing, Pascoe sent a statement to the court continuing to deny the claims.
Speaking after the case, Natalie waived her right to anonymity to tell her story, telling how she first met Pascoe in July 2021 when he was volunteering at her local gym.
But what began as a loving relationship soon turned sour as he turned violent and controlling.
The couple then took a three-week holiday in Spain for a wedding, and she recalled waking up in the middle of the night “knowing something had happened to me”.
She added: “I woke up feeling like I had something done to me. I did not remember. I asked him ‘Have you done something to me in my sleep – and he just laughed.
“About six days later, I was half awake in the night and eyes still shut, but I could feel someone having sex with me.
The nursery worker then spent hours building a civil case against him to represent herself in court Credit: SWNS
She felt ‘vindicated’ by a judge making a ruling that she was a ‘victim of rape’ Credit: SWNS
“I thought, ‘What the hell is going on?’ and went to move and could feel a light in my face. I lay there completely still for ten minutes in the dark. He must have thought I had gone back to sleep and he got up again and started making a video. I was just frozen and did not know what to do.
“When he finished, he got up, turned the shower on, and I got his phone as I wanted to delete the video. But I discovered he had a gallery of eight videos, two from that evening and six from other dates I was not aware of.
“I lay down and pretended to go to sleep. I was really worried, but needed to confront him. I did the following day and told him I did not want to do that. It is rape.”
She added: “Although I knew what he had done, I wasn’t able to process it at that time. It was a volatile relationship, and when we came back from holiday, things started getting worse.”
The police were called on multiple occasions and, despite her wanting to move on, Natalie said he “would not leave me alone”.
Among the charges he would later be convicted of was cracking the skull of her miniature dachshund and hitting her son across the face, “leaving his teeth coming through his cheek”. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison for these offences.
Reflecting on her long battle for justice, Natalie said it took her a year to find the courage to report the ‘rapes.’
She added: “I was out with friends one night, and he was demanding to know who I had been on a date with.
“Because I had a few glasses of wine, I felt more inclined to report it.
“I told police I was worried for my safety, but as we carried on talking, they said this was far more serious.”
Natalie then gave a full statement and he was arrested and questioned about the alleged rapes. He was bailed and later served a non-molestation order after continuing to turn up at her house.
He was eventually charged with multiple offences, including six counts of rape and one count of sexual assault by penetration.
He claimed that rape voice recordings were part of role play Credit: SWNS
She cried for an hour when she heard the verdict from the court Credit: SWNS
He eventually went on trial in January 2024 for two counts of rape, as well as the ABH and animal cruelty charges, breaking a non molestation order and assaulting a police officer when he was arrested. He was jailed for 18 months but found not guilty on the rape charges,
Natalie said: “He told the court it was a fantasy and I wanted it and that I was going to upload the videos to OnlyFans. There was no evidence of that at all.
“When asked about the rape voice recordings, he said it was part of a role play. A small number of the jury bought it, and it was a hung jury before the judge insisted they return a verdict, and he was found not guilty.
“I gave the police all the videos. They did not play in court, but the officer watched the videos and transcribed what happened. They confirmed there was no movement or sound from me.
“In my view, it was a massive failing by the court.
“I kept being called a liar in the witness box. It was the most horrific experience I have ever gone through.
“When I heard the verdict, I was totally broken. It was devastating, and I cried for about an hour.
“I have always believed in the justice system and doing it the right way – but I could not believe I had been failed so badly.”
She said the two charges of rape in Spain were the only ones pursued by the CPS, as they had the videos. But her civil claim was for a total of ‘six rapes.’
Natalie added: “I knew I wasn’t going to accept this, but I was still struggling with the verdict and my life getting turned upside down.
“I knew a normal person could have sued for a lot more – but he did not have money, and I did not want money – I just wanted a judgment.”
Natalie said she put in hours of work and jumped through multiple hoops to get to a trial date in February this year.
She sued not for money but for a judgement Credit: SWNS
She now wants to show people that you can still get justice even if the justice system lets you down Credit: SWNS
She added: “I was absolutely terrified. The judge took us into a special room and said he had emailed that he was not going to attend due to his own trauma.
“There was no remorse, no apology for what he had done.
“Two-thirds of the way through my presentation of the case, the judge said, ‘I’ve heard enough.’ When he said I believe this to be true I just cried.”
“I just sobbed in the courtroom. I couldn’t believe I had managed to get someone to say it.
“I have now made peace that he may never do time for what he did to me. But I want to take this experience and make it something positive.
“There are so many women out there reporting rape and not getting anywhere. The conviction rates are so low, and as a victim, you are made to feel like the bad party.
“That’s why so few people don’t report them, but that has got to change. I want to show people you can still get justice even if the justice system lets you down.”
In his statement to the court, Pascoe wrote that he “did not accept or admit the claim” and said the matters had “already been examined in criminal proceedings in which I was found not guilty”.
He added: “My decision not to attend or participate further in these proceedings is not an acceptance of the claim nor an attempt to evade responsibility.”
Domestic abuse – how to get help
DOMESTIC abuse can affect anyone – including men – and does not always involve physical violence.
Here are some signs that you could be in an abusive relationship:
Emotional abuse – Including being belittled, blamed for the abuse – gaslighting – being isolated from family and friends, having no control over your finances, what you where and who you speak to
Threats and intimidation – Some partners might threaten to kill or hurt you, destroy your belongings, stalk or harass you
Physical abuse – This can range from slapping or hitting to being shoved over, choked or bitten.
Sexual abuse – Being touched in a way you do not want to be touched, hurt during sex, pressured into sex or forced to have sex when you do not consent.
If any of the above apply to you or a friend, you can call these numbers:
Remember, you are not alone.
1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men will experience domestic abuse over the course of their lifetime.
Every 30 seconds the police receive a call for help relating to domestic abuse.
