Kieran Hayler Told Teenager to Stay Silent, Lewes Crown Court Hears

Kieran Hayler, the former husband of media personality Katie Price, allegedly instructed a 13-year-old girl to keep quiet about sexual contact with him, warning that he could "get in trouble for this," a jury at Lewes Crown Court has been told.

Hayler, 39, is standing trial accused of three counts of rape and one count of sexual assault against the teenager in West Sussex in 2016. He denies all of the charges.

The court heard details of the complainant's police interview, which was played to jurors as part of the prosecution's case. In that interview, the woman described how the alleged abuse unfolded and her attempts to process what had happened to her at the time.

According to her account, the first alleged incident began with Hayler telling the 13-year-old that he really liked her before steering the conversation toward sex. She said he described the act as a "special thing" that they should do together, and then raped her.

The complainant recalled Hayler becoming emotional during the encounter. She told police that he "started crying" and said words to the effect of, "Maybe I shouldn't take it away from you, it's so important." She said he stressed to her how meaningful and significant the first time was supposed to be.

Reflecting on the experience, the woman said she did not have what she would describe as a proper conversation with Hayler afterward, and remembered thinking that she "was probably a bit young" for what had occurred.

The court was told that Hayler allegedly went on to rape the girl on two further occasions. The second incident is said to have taken place approximately two or three weeks after the first.

In her police interview, the complainant described waking up to find Hayler present on that second occasion. She said that afterward he behaved as though "like nothing had happened," a detail that prosecutors say is consistent with a pattern of calculated concealment.

The third alleged occasion, jurors heard, involved a different sequence of events. The woman said Hayler told her she should not speak about what had happened before sexually assaulting her. She recalled him saying, "You can't talk about it, you can't tell anyone, I might get in trouble for this."

It is alleged that during that third incident Hayler grabbed her hand and placed it down his trousers. The complainant told police that by that point she had begun to understand that what was happening "wasn't quite right." She said he repeatedly urged her to be quiet, telling her to "shh," and insisted that she had to be secretive and not tell anyone.

The woman also told officers that she "tried to forget it for so many years," a statement that underscores the long-term psychological impact that victims of child sexual abuse often describe when they eventually come forward.

The investigation into Hayler began in 2021, when the complainant contacted the NSPCC. The charity then referred her to the police, prompting a formal inquiry into her allegations. Hayler was first interviewed by police in January 2022.

During that interview, the court heard, Hayler denied that any of the allegations took place and denied that anything sexual had occurred between him and the complainant.

At the time of the alleged incidents in 2016, Hayler was married to Katie Price, the television personality and former model. The couple's relationship broke down in 2018, and they divorced in 2021.

The court was told that Hayler has suggested his ex-wife "launched a campaign" against him when their marriage ended, and that the allegations form part of that campaign. The prosecution rejects that characterization, and the jury will be asked to decide the case on the evidence presented.

The alleged victim is not part of either Hayler's or Price's extended families, the court heard, a detail that distinguishes the case from any suggestion of an internal family dispute and which the prosecution says reinforces the credibility of the complaint.

Price, who was married to Hayler for several years, is expected to be called as a witness during the trial. Her anticipated testimony could prove significant, given the timeline of the allegations and the breakdown of the marriage that Hayler says motivated the accusations against him.

The trial, presided over by a judge at Lewes Crown Court, is expected to last approximately one week. Jurors will ultimately determine whether the prosecution has proven the charges beyond reasonable doubt, the standard required in criminal proceedings in England and Wales.

Cases of this nature often hinge on the testimony of the complainant, particularly when the alleged offenses occurred years before they were reported. Prosecutors have pointed to the police interview as the foundation of their case, while the defense is expected to challenge the reliability of the account and to advance the theory that the allegations were fabricated.

The trial continues, and further evidence is expected to be heard in the coming days.