Dorchester teenager's 'chilling' screams after alleged rape

A jury at Bournemouth Crown Court heard statements made to police by family members of the schoolgirl in the days after the alleged attack.

Adrian Cordery, aged 32, of Dorchester, is on trial accused of rape and one charge of threatening with a knife. The charges relate to the alleged attack in fields on Barnes Way at around 9.20pm on December 5 last year as the teenager walked back from her part-time job.

The girl’s father gave a statement to police in which he explained how he had offered his daughter a lift home from work that night, but she had refused. He said: “I eventually heard the front door open and heard her come in. I heard a hysterical noise. I knew it was her but I couldn’t work out if she was laughing or crying.

“She was slumped in a ball at the bottom of the stairs, sobbing. The noise was very chilling. I have never seen her in that emotional state before.

“As I reached her she said, ‘I have been raped’. I saw her jumpsuit had a rip in it across her stomach, completely exposing her. I could see she had tied her jacket across her waist in an attempt to protect her modesty.

“She was in a state. It was very difficult to get any information out of her but I asked her where it happened. She told me that the male had a knife.”

He then told of visiting the scene of the alleged attack, shouting into the darkness, ‘where are you?’ and described feeling ‘completely panicked and helpless’.

The teenager’s stepmother described first seeing her after the alleged incident: “She was making some chilling noises and was sobbing. Her shoes, legs and hands were muddy and she had a small cut on one of her hands.

“She was crying and her makeup was streaming down her face. She looked dishevelled with her hair in disarray.

“I asked her, ‘what the hell happened?’ and she would provide short segments in between crying and sobbing. I continued to give her cuddles and told her she was loved and safe.

The trial continues.