A footballer has been cleared of raping a sleeping woman twice in one night and intending to cause distress by sending naked photos of her to his teammates.
Michael Emery, 33, a former reserve goalkeeper for Warrington Rylands FC, was accused of attacking the woman in the early hours of 23 May 2021, after his team won a non-league cup final at Wembley.
The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, alleged she initially had consensual sex with Emery before twice waking up in the night to him biting and raping her, St Albans crown court heard.
In the witness box on Friday, Emery, who denied the charges, said they had sex three times. He said he regretted sending naked photos of the woman to his teammates and asking: “Anyone want a go?”
Emery was found not guilty on Tuesday of two counts of rape and one count of disclosing private sexual photographs or films with intent to cause distress.
The judge, Mr Justice Goss, told Emery: “You have been acquitted by the jury of these offences. You are free to go.”
He also thanked the jury of five women and seven men for paying close attention to the evidence in the case, adding that it “was not a straightforward case for a number of reasons”. The jury returned unanimous verdicts after three hours and 16 minutes.
The week-long trial heard that Emery invited the woman to stay in his room at the Grove Hotel in Watford on 22 May 2021 after Warrington Rylands’ FA Vase final victory.
In a police interview played to jurors, the woman said she had consensual sex with Emery, which she described as “vanilla” and “quite pedestrian”, before falling asleep.
She alleged Emery woke her up by biting her and that she told him “no” several times before he raped her.
In cross-examination by Emery’s barrister, Kate Blackwell KC, the woman said she was frightened and froze. She said: “Everything happened quite quickly and I was startled when he bit me, and when I said no and he wasn’t stopping, it was like my brain just turned off.”
She claimed she “played dead” when she woke up for a second time to Emery biting and raping her.
In the witness box, Emery was asked by Blackwell if he had woken the woman twice in the night by biting her and having sex without her consent. He replied: “No, never.”
The prosecutor, Charlotte Newell KC, accused Emery of sending naked photos of the woman to two WhatsApp group chats, comprising 70 people.
She argued that at 3.43am Emery sent a photo of the sleeping woman with her breasts exposed to a group called “GK training”. He allegedly sent the same image to another group chat called “Rylands first team” at 3.54am, writing “anyone want a go?” and added a crying with laughter emoji.
A participant in the chat allegedly replied “show us her gash” and Emery sent a further photo at 4.12am showing the woman’s vaginal area.
In the witness box, Emery was asked by Blackwell: “What were you doing taking an intimate photo of a sleeping woman who had not given you permission?”
He replied: “I don’t know. I was bragging. I deeply regret taking it. It was stupid. If I could take it back I would. I can’t justify why I did it. It is horrible.”
Emery, who was born in Boston, Lincolnshire, said he had not meant it when he sent the caption “anyone want a go?”
He said: “I was just showing off and being a lad. I don’t know why I did it.” Of the second image, he said: “I responded to the message without thinking and sent a vile photo.”
He said he tried to remove the messages from WhatsApp the next morning as the team travelled back to Warrington.
