Man 'raped pregnant girlfriend' as she went into labour after telling her he felt 'horny'

A man raped his pregnant girlfriend while she was in labour after telling her he felt 'horny', a court heard.

The woman had started to have labour pains during the night at the former couple's home in Hull, East Yorkshire. The identities of the parents have been withheld for legal reasons.

At around 11.30pm, the unnamed woman says she got out of bed and got on her hands and knees as she tried to relieve the pain of her contractions. While the woman was in obvious pain as she entered the advanced stages of pregnancy, her partner reportedly said: "I feel horny", to which she replied "are you serious?"

He then proceeded to have sex with her, despite her repeated protestations and continued even as she cried out in pain, begging him to stop, Hull Crown Court heard.

After the alleged incident, the defendant is said to have 'acted as if nothing happened' and offered to run his girlfriend a bath. Hours later the woman gave birth to their son in hospital.

Explaining the circumstances of the alleged sexual assault, prosecutor Michael Greenhalgh told the court: "She was in bed, naked as she normally would be. In order to try and relieve the pressure and the pain of the contractions, she got onto all fours because she had been told that was a way of relieving the pain.

"She was in that position when the defendant woke up. He saw her naked on all fours and said 'I feel horny', to which she replied 'are you serious?' The defendant then got behind her and started having sex with her.'

The prosecutor said the woman 'made it clear' that it was 'not something she wanted or something she was consenting to' but the defendant ignored her protests.

Mr Greenhalgh said: "How did she do that? Well, in the first place it was obvious, one might have thought, because she was crying in pain from the contractions, but she also told him to stop it and said to him 'please don't'.

"The defendant didn't listen to that and continued having sex with her."'

Following the baby's birth, the alleged victim stayed with her mother because the heating at the couple's property was broken. When she returned home she reported the alleged rape to her family and police, according to reports.

Mr Greenhalgh said the couple, who had been together for seven years, shared excited texts following the birth of their son, however explaining the woman's change of tone after she returned home, he said:

"The woman will note two things precipitated that change. Firstly, she was back in the bedroom where this happened, which is a stark and uncomfortable reminder to her. And, he behaved in an inappropriate way with the new baby.

"The child is crying and he wouldn't let her pick the child up and refers to it as a "spoilt little ****". It was at that point she decided she couldn't forget what has happened."'

The defendant denies the pair had sex. The trial continues.