A TOP Boy actor told a woman he allegedly raped in a car “if I tell you to do it, you do it”, a court heard.
Micheal Ward, 28, repeatedly assaulted the alleged victim in his friend’s car after hosting the event on New Year’s Day 2023, jurors were told.
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Micheal Ward, seen at a previous court appearance, allegedly raped the woman in a car Credit: PA
The actor starred in the third season of Top Boy Credit: Alamy
Snaresbrook Crown Court heard the woman “didn’t really feel like I had a choice” as she was allegedly raped.
She told police: “He said: ‘If I tell you to do it, you do it’.”
Asked how she felt during the alleged attack, the woman said she felt “numb” and “scared”, adding she remembered “wanting it all to be over”.
In a second interview with police on July 29, 2024, the woman added: “He didn’t respect what I was saying.
“All he cared about was what he wanted.”
Jurors heard the pair met for the first time at a party at the Infinity Lounge in Ilford.
The actor has denied the alleged offences Credit: Getty
Ward starred alongside Olivia Coleman in Empire of Light
He has also worked as a model Credit: Getty
Ward poses with his Bafta award for Rising Star Award in 2020 Credit: Reuters
Tracy Ayling, KC, prosecuting, said the woman had not met Ward before but was aware he was an actor and had seen him on TV and in films.
Ward asked the alleged victim for her Snapchat handle before asking if she and her friends were doing anything after the party.
Jurors heard they were in the back of a friend’s car when Ward allegedly tried to kiss her.
The pair then shared a kiss on the lips and Ward carried out a consensual sexual act on the woman, it was said.
She and her friends then went to an afterparty in Stratford but got a “weird vibe” so decided not to stay long.
Jurors heard she then bumped into Ward, who asked her where she was going.
The woman told him they were leaving as they had a long drive home but he suggested that she walked up to the Mercedes that was parked further up the road so that he could talk to her again, the court heard.
Ms Ayling said: “She said she was given specific instructions to walk behind him, and not to talk to anyone en route.
“Mr Ward then invited her to climb into the back seat with him claiming that he just wanted to kiss her a bit more.”
The woman said they could do that in the front seat but Ward allegedly became “quite impatient” and told her to “stop wasting time” and get into the back.
Ms Ayling continued: “She said that she felt a bit pressured, but she did what he asked.
“The complainant said that he then started kissing her again and kissed her breast. She said to him at that point ‘I don’t wanna do that’.”
Jurors were told that at that point he touched her intimately despite her saying she was not “comfortable”.
The woman said she opened the car door but Ward shut it and asked if she could just let him “do it quickly”.
Ward then allegedly pulled down her trousers and knickers before raping her, it was said.
Jurors heard the actor then orally raped her then started talking “as though nothing had happened”.
Ms Ayling said: “He mentioned how busy he was at the moment and made her promise to come back and see him the next day.”
The woman told police she initially did not feel confident enough to make a complaint and blamed herself for what happened, it was said.
She also claimed she initially felt too intimidated to make a report to the police because of Ward’s fame.
Ward, of Cheshunt. Hertfordshire, denies two counts of rape, two counts of assault by penetration, and one count of sexual assault.
The actor’s first on-screen appearance came in 2016 in movie Brotherhood.
His breakout role was in 2019 when he starred as Jamie in Netflix’s third series of Top Boy.
He also appeared in the Sam Mendes drama Empire of Light alongside Olivia Coleman.
The star was nominated for the Bafta Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for the film.
He also won a Bafta Rising Star Award for his performance in British musical crime drama Blue Story.
The trial continues.
