Teenager was led to a Southampton park and raped, jury told

Southampton Crown Court heard the woman, who cannot be named, had stopped to ask a man the time while walking in Above Bar Street in the early hours of Sunday, February 19, but he then 'urged' her towards Palmerston Park.

Rosario Reis, 27, is on trial accused of carrying out the attack in bushes in the park.

In a video recorded with police and shown to the jury, the woman said: "I felt scared.

"I remember telling him that I didn’t understand what was happening and telling him to stop. He kept saying ‘yes, yes, yes'.”

Police in Palmerston Park on February 19 (Image: Newsquest)

Prosecuting, Robert Welling told the court on Monday how the woman attempted to evade Reis.

He said: “The defendant came across the complainant in a disorientated state, and within minutes of meeting her, he preyed on her vulnerability.

“She was anxious that she couldn’t shake him off.

“He took her into the bushes in the park and sexually assaulted and raped her.

“When she said ‘no’ and resisted, he kept saying ‘yes’ as he wasn’t prepared to take no for an answer.”

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Mr Welling told jurors how Reis moved the woman three times while in the bushes.

He said this was because Reis noticed some passers-by could see the pair, so he moved them to a more ‘secluded’ area.

The woman was also ‘in and out of consciousness’ while the attack took place, the court heard.

Mr Welling said: “She felt unimportant as she thought passers-by could see what he was doing, but she did matter to one woman.

“The woman said she saw Reis lift the complainant’s leg up ‘like a dead weight’, and that’s when she intervened.

“She said the complainant was mouthing the words ‘help me’ as she approached, and she told Reis she was going to call the police.”

Reis then left the area, running away to a nearby coach station where he was apprehended by police.

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Mr Welling added: “She was too scared to resist him and felt unable to do anything, apart from telling him no and pushing him off.

“The belief on his part that she consented is unreasonable - he had literally met her minutes earlier.

“She did not consent to what happened.”

Reis, of St Mary’s Street, Southampton, denies two counts of assault by penetration, sexual assault, attempted rape, and rape.

The trial continues.