A POLICE Sergeant raped an unconscious woman and got her pregnant after a night out, a court heard today.
Sgt Ben Lister is accused of raping the 21-year-old after the pair had gone out for drinks with two mutual friends in Bradford.
Lister, who at the time was a serving police officer with West Yorkshire Police, has pleaded not guilty to one count of rape and another of assault by penetration on August 29 2016.
Bradford Crown Court heard that Lister, 35, and his victim had been out drinking with pals over the August bank holiday weekend and were all intoxicated.
Prosecutor Richard Woolfall said that the group then returned to a property where the two other friends went upstairs to bed.
The court heard that Lister and the complainant slept downstairs in the living room on separate sofas.
Mr Woolfall said: “This defendant went on to take advantage of that young lady, who was very drunk.
“He dragged her off the sofa and had types of sex with her. She was drifting in and out of consciousness.”
The jury was told that the sex was not consentual because the victim was exceptionally intoxicated and “out of it”.
She woke up to find herself partially undressed, and messages Lister to ask if they had sexual intercourse.
Lister denied this, and told her that they had only performed oral sex.
But Mr Woolfall told the jury: “On that one occasion they had sex, she got pregnant, and for a short time she was in denial about how her baby had been conceived and, no doubt, that her baby was a product of rape – bear in mind she was only 21.
“She simply couldn’t face up to the fact that she had been raped and made pregnant.”
The jury also heard that there was “strong DNA evidence” to prove that Lister was the father of her baby.
Bradford Crown Court heard that the victim lied to close friends that her baby was fathered by an ex-boyfriend.
Lister has denied ejaculating inside the complainant and claimed she was not too drunk to consent.
The trial continues.
