BAFTA-winning Top Boy actor Micheal Ward is currently on trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court in east London, facing two counts of rape, two counts of assault by penetration, and one count of sexual assault. The 28-year-old actor denies all charges, maintaining that the encounter in a car following a nightclub visit in January 2023 was entirely consensual.
The jury was told that the initial encounter occurred at a nightclub party in north-east London. The complainant stated she recognised Ward from his prominent roles in film and television and felt flattered when he asked for her Snapchat details. The trial heard that she willingly accompanied the actor to a friend’s Mercedes, where they kissed and engaged in consensual intimate touching. Following this, Ward reportedly invited the woman and her friends to a separate afterparty.
Disputed events in a vehicle :
The prosecution claims that the situation escalated violently later that evening. The alleged rape and sexual assaults took place inside a car parked near the second party location.
During a recorded police interview played for the jury on Monday, the alleged victim recalled feeling “numb” and “scared” during the purported attack. She told officers she had attempted to get out of the vehicle but Ward instructed her to close the door. She described the trauma of the event by adding that she remembered “wanting it all to be over”.
Micheal Ward appeared in the dock wearing a blue shirt and a burgundy tie as the prosecution laid out its case. The court was read the formal statement he provided to police following his arrest where he explicitly rejected the accusations.
“I deny the allegation of rape,” Ward told officers. “I want to put on record that we had consensual foreplay and consensual sex.”
The London-raised actor originally hails from Jamaica and experienced a rapid ascent in the entertainment industry. His early career success culminated in winning the prestigious Bafta Rising Star award in 2020.Ward was awarded the Bafta Rising Star Award in 2020 and was later nominated twice for roles in the BBC’s Small Axe and the 2022 film Empire of Light.
The trial continues.
