Katie Price's ex-husband told 13-year-old accuser to stay silent, rape trial hears

Kieran Hayler, the former husband of television personality Katie Price, repeatedly instructed a 13-year-old girl not to disclose the sexual abuse she alleges she suffered at his hands, telling her he could "get in trouble" if she spoke to anyone, a jury at Lewes Crown Court has been told.

Hayler, 39, is standing trial accused of three counts of rape and one count of sexual assault against the teenager in West Sussex in 2016. He denies all of the charges. The complainant cannot be identified for legal reasons, and reporting restrictions apply to details that could reveal her identity.

The court heard evidence from the complainant's police interview, which was played to jurors. In that interview, she described how the alleged abuse began when Hayler told her he liked her and initiated a conversation about sexual activity. According to her account, he described the act as a "special thing" that they should engage in, before raping her.

She told officers that Hayler became emotional during that first alleged encounter. "He started crying and saying, 'Maybe I shouldn't take it away from you, it's so important,'" the complainant said in the recorded interview. She also recalled telling police that he had described the first time as "important" and had emphasised how meaningful he believed it to be.

The complainant said there was no "conversation" with Hayler in the aftermath of that first alleged incident. Reflecting on what had happened, she told investigators she remembered thinking, "I was probably a bit young." That detail, prosecutors suggest, speaks to the girl's awareness at the time that she was below the legal age of consent in England and Wales, which is 16.

The court was told of a second alleged rape, which the complainant said occurred approximately two to three weeks after the first. She described waking up to find Hayler present, and said that afterwards he behaved "like nothing had happened," a pattern of denial that prosecutors argue is consistent with an attempt to normalise the abuse and discourage disclosure.

A third alleged incident formed the basis of further charges, the jury heard. On that occasion, the complainant said Hayler warned her that she could not discuss what had happened, telling her, "You can't talk about it, you can't tell anyone, I might get in trouble for this." It is alleged that he then sexually assaulted her by grabbing her hand and placing it down his trousers.

In her police interview, the complainant described how the cumulative effect of the alleged abuse left her feeling isolated and unable to speak out. "I think by that point I knew it wasn't quite right, he kept telling me to 'shh', I had to be secretive and not tell anyone," she told officers. She added, "I tried to forget it for so many years," a statement that underscores the long-term psychological impact that child sexual abuse survivors frequently describe.

The allegations remained unreported for several years. It was not until 2021 that the complainant contacted the NSPCC, the UK's leading children's charity dedicated to preventing abuse and protecting young people. The organisation referred her to Sussex Police, which subsequently launched an investigation into the claims.

Hayler was first interviewed by police in January 2022. During that interview, he denied that any of the alleged incidents took place and denied that anything sexual had occurred between him and the complainant. He has maintained that denial throughout the legal process, and his trial gives him the opportunity to challenge the allegations formally before a jury.

At the time of the alleged offences, Hayler was married to Katie Price, the media personality and former model who has been a prominent figure in British tabloid culture for decades. The couple's relationship broke down in 2018, and their divorce was finalised in 2021.

The court heard that Hayler has suggested his ex-wife "launched a campaign" against him around the time their marriage ended, and that the allegations form part of that broader campaign. It is a line of defence that, if pursued, would require the jury to consider the motivations behind the complaint and the sequence of events surrounding the couple's separation.

The alleged victim is not part of Hayler or Price's extended families, the court was told. That detail may be significant for the jury as it assesses the context in which the complainant said she came into contact with Hayler and the circumstances surrounding the alleged offences in West Sussex in 2016.

Price is expected to give evidence during the trial, which is anticipated to last approximately one week. Her testimony could prove pivotal, particularly given the defence assertion that she was involved in orchestrating or encouraging the allegations after the marriage ended. The prosecution, by contrast, will seek to demonstrate that the complainant's account is credible and that the timing of her report reflects the well-documented reluctance of child sexual abuse victims to come forward.

Legal experts note that historical sexual offence cases frequently hinge on the reliability of recollections formed years earlier, particularly where the complainant was a child at the time. Juries in such trials are routinely directed to consider the evidence with care, weighing the passage of time and the absence of forensic evidence against the consistency and detail of the accounts given. Prosecutors in this case will likely rely on the complainant's police interview and any corroborating material to establish that the allegations are truthful.

The trial continues before the judge and jury at Lewes Crown Court. Hayler remains presumed innocent unless and until the jury returns a verdict, and the burden of proof rests with the prosecution throughout.