TWO women alleging they were sexually abused by the same man in their childhood years were accused of "getting their heads together" to fabricate a story.
Yesterday was the third day of the trial of Stuart Wilson, who denies one charge of rape, another of attempted rape, 16 counts of indecent assault and one of obtaining heroin.
The first witness had claimed that Wilson, 52, of Cleethorpe Road, had forced her to touch him and touched her against her will on numerous occasions from the age of nine to 14, raped her, and attempted to rape her.
However, Craig Lowe, for the defence at Grimsby Crown Court, asked why she never reported Wilson – or even told someone what had happened.
He highlighted the fact that she reported another man for abusing her – which never went to court – and yet still did not report Mr Wilson.
Mr Lowe said: "Wouldn't this have been a good time, when you reported one man, to say that Mr Wilson did it too when you said yourself that you were treated sympathetically and believed by the police."
He also pointed out that she claimed both men had made threats, so she was scared – yet reported one and not the other.
The witness said: "I was young and didn't think like an adult – I was a child being terrorised and petrified."
Yesterday in court, the witness claimed that when she was addicted to heroin she and Wilson renewed contact, and that he offered her drugs and money in exchange for sex.
Mr Lowe asked why she would get back in contact with Wilson if he had abused her for years.
He accused her and another witness, whose evidence was heard later in yesterday's proceedings, of "getting your heads together" and fabricating the stories.
Mr Lowe added: "That's what you do – you make things up, you lie, you're dishonest."
The second woman spoke later on, claiming she heard of other witnesses being abused and that she had herself been a victim.
She claimed that Wilson had touched her on multiple occasions.
"He told me that it would be our little secret," she told Jonathan Sharp, prosecuting.
However, Mr Lowe questioned why she remained close to her alleged abuser, spending time with him until months before she made a statement against him.
He suggested it was suspect that the two claim they never talked about one incident – which they both knew about at the time – until around shortly before the allegations were made and never reported them.
Mr Lowe put to her: "Nothing at all of a sexual nature happened to you at the hands of Mr Wilson."
The witness denied this. The trial continues.
