Top Boy star Michael Ward found not guilty of rape
British actor Micheal Ward has been found not guilty of rape and sexual assault after a jury acquitted him of all charges at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Friday.
The 28-year-old, who denied two counts of rape and three counts of sexual assault, had been accused of attacking a woman in the back of a car after the pair met at a nightclub in east London on January 2, 2023.
Ward, known for his roles in Blue Story and Netflix’s Top Boy, maintained throughout the trial that the sexual encounter was entirely consensual.
“Everything we did was wholly consensual,” he told the court.
Giving evidence, Ward said he believed the two were enjoying each other’s company and described their interaction as flirtatious from the moment they met.
He told jurors that he found the woman “very cute” and felt there was mutual interest before inviting her into a car, where, he said, the flirting continued.
“She was reciprocating the energy. She was pulling me close. For me, that was an inviting act and we were both enjoying that moment,” Ward said, adding that she never indicated she wanted to leave.
He also said the woman appeared comfortable throughout the encounter, and that they later exchanged friendly messages, including a smiling heart emoji he sent after they parted.
The complainant, whose identity is protected by law, gave a different account during the trial, becoming emotional as she testified.
She told the court she would never have entered the vehicle had she known what would happen and insisted the encounter was not consensual.
“Micheal raped me,” she said.
The woman testified that she froze during the alleged assault and did not verbally refuse because she had “completely shut down.” She also claimed she repeatedly told Ward she needed to leave during the incident.
After returning home with a friend, she ordered a sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing kit and indicated on the request form that she had been sexually assaulted.
When questioned by police following his arrest on January 18, 2023, Ward denied the allegations in a prepared statement, saying: “I deny the allegation of rape. I want to put on record that we had consensual foreplay and consensual sex.”
Following the trial, the jury returned not guilty verdicts on all five charges.
Ward won the BAFTA Rising Star Award in 2020 and has since received further nominations for his performances in the BBC anthology Small Axe and the 2022 film Empire of Light.
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