A woman allegedly raped at the roadside by an off-duty special constable has said she felt she had no choice but to stop and submit to his questioning because he produced his warrant card.
The woman told Wolverhampton crown court she was left “numb and disgusted” and had not consented to sexual activity with Paul Hoile, a Metropolitan police officer, who she said had appeared to be drunk.
Hoile, 40, a volunteer officer from Essex, denies three counts of rape relating to the same incident, claiming consensual activity took place “without fuss” after he and a friend approached the stranger at night in Shropshire in July.
Giving evidence on Thursday, the complainant said she was instructed by Hoile not to drive and was told to book a taxi, leaving her feeling uncomfortable and anxious. After Hoile questioned her about her driving licence, the woman told jurors, he went “from just like asking questions to ‘oh, I caught you’.”
Shielded from Hoile’s view and the public gallery by a curtain, the woman told the court that she asked to see his badge or ID? “It was begrudging. He was fumbling to try and get it,” she said. “I saw the card … the picture, and I saw the badge as well. I couldn’t see his name. After a couple more questions I was like: ‘Is that actually real?’ On the second time … he still covered it [his name].”
The woman claimed Hoile was “aggressive, demanding” and “wasn’t trying to hide it”, while acting in an unprofessional manner.
Asked by Caroline Goodwin KC, prosecuting, why she had answered Hoile’s questions, the woman said: “I had no choice. He is a police officer. I felt like I had to.”
Insisting she had not given Hoile permission to carry out a sexual act, the woman said she left the immediate area where her vehicle was because she “didn’t want him to get any more aggressive than he was already”.
She said: “I didn’t want him anywhere near me if I could help it. He was being aggressive and demanding. He was getting progressively more annoyed that I wasn’t doing what I was being told” and going to the taxi.
The woman told the jury that Hoile claimed to have saved her from an accident and mentioned that he had controlled crowds at Wembley Stadium.
Asked to recall Hoile’s manner before the alleged rapes, she said he had been “loud, annoyed, very unprofessional for a police officer … more like a drunk.”
She also said she had “no choice” when she performed oral sex at the roadside, had not said anything to encourage what happened, and had “humoured” her alleged attacker because she “didn’t want a repeat of him getting angry”.
Goodwin asked the woman: “How did you feel after that episode with him?”
The complainant, who cannot be identified, answered: “Numb and disgusted … shocked, scared.”
Hoile denies misconduct in public office, three counts of oral and anal rape, and a charge of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent. The trial continues.
