Michael Emery raped a sleeping woman twice in one night, then shared intimate photographs of her to his teammates asking: ‘Anyone want a go?’
How it Happened
The 33-year-old footballer invited the woman back to his hotel room while he was out celebrating his team Warrington Rylands FC’s win in the FA Vase cup final at Wembley on May 22, 2021.
They First Had a Consensual Sex
Court heard the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, initially had consensual sex, which she described as ‘vanilla’, with the defendant before she fell asleep.Â
Then the Rape Happened
She awoke to find Emery biting her ‘really hard’ on her left thigh and breast. She said ‘ow twice’ and told him she didn’t want to have sex before he allegedly raped her.
Emery, who was a goalkeeper on the Warrington team, denies the allegations.
The court heard she ‘played dead’ when she awoke to find him biting her in several places and raping her for a second time.Â
The woman was said to be ‘merry but not drunk’ on the night, after she had consumed six or seven bottles of Moretti beer over eight hours, per the Guardian.
Opening the case, Newell said: ‘Whilst she was asleep, Mr Emery demonstrated his total disregard for the autonomy and consent of the woman he had intercourse with by taking photographs of her naked without her knowledge and distributing them shortly before 4am amongst his teammates.’Â
Emery Sent the Pictures to 70 People
She added that Emery took a picture of the sleeping woman with her breasts exposed which he sent to two WhatsApp group chats, comprising 70 people.
It is alleged he wrote: ‘Anyone want a go?’, and added a crying with laughter emoji. A participant in the chat replied, ‘Show us her gash’, and Emery allegedly sent a photograph showing the woman’s vaginal area.
Newell said: ‘She knew nothing of this and would never have consented to such pictures being taken.’
Court Heard
The court heard the woman confided in two friends about the alleged rapes before going to her GP on May 27, 2021, where her injuries were assessed and samples were taken. She was also referred to a counselling service for victims of sexual assault.
At the time, the woman was reluctant to report the matter to the police because she was aware of rape conviction statistics.
Due to concerns about Emery being attached to a woman’s football team, the woman told Warrington Rylands club chairman Mark Pye about the alleged attacks.
