Top Boy actor Micheal Ward denies rape and sexual assault charges

Award-winning actor Micheal Ward, known for his roles in "Top Boy" and "Blue Story," is on trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court facing charges of two counts of rape and three counts of sexual assault. The alleged incidents occurred in a car in January 2023 after Ward met the woman at a nightclub in east London.

During the trial, jurors heard a police interview with the alleged victim, who stated she felt "numb" and "scared" during the encounter and remembered "wanting it all to be over." She testified that she did not consent to the sexual activity and "never would have got in that car with him" if she had known what would happen.

Ward denies all charges, with his defense team asserting that all sexual activity between him and the accuser was consensual. He stated in a police interview that "we had consensual foreplay and consensual sex." The 28-year-old actor, who won the Bafta Rising Star award in 2020, was reportedly flattered when the woman, who knew him from television and film, accepted his request for her Snapchat handle. The court heard that after kissing and consensual intimate touching in the front of the car, Ward invited the woman to an afterparty. It was in the back of the car near the second location that the alleged assaults took place. The alleged victim recounted telling Ward she needed to leave on multiple occasions and that she "completely shut down" during the encounter. She also mentioned experiencing pain and ordering an STI kit on her way home, ticking a box indicating she had been sexually assaulted.