Kieran Hayler denied raping a 13-year-old girl during his trial at Lewes Crown Court, telling jurors he was “attracted to older women” and that the allegations had been fabricated.
The 39-year-old, who was married to Katie Price when the alleged offences took place in West Sussex in 2016, denies three counts of rape and one count of sexual assault.
Giving evidence, the former stripper said all his significant relationships had been with women older than him. He also admitted affairs with three women during his marriage to Price, while claiming she had been unfaithful as well.
Hayler told the court: “I am attracted to older women,” and said trust between him and Price had broken down by the middle of 2013.
The jury heard that he discovered messages between Price and the alleged victim in 2017, after searching his then-wife’s phone for evidence that she was having an affair.
In one exchange, Price allegedly told the girl that she had heard Hayler and the teenager had kissed and that he had “tried it on” with her. She also wrote: “I will make you a little star.”
Hayler said the messages appeared suspicious and that he photographed them on his own phone. He told jurors he believed Price was attempting to influence the girl into making allegations against him.
“I thought she was coaching her into (saying) something she shouldn’t,” he said. “I didn’t send them anywhere, I took a picture on my phone.”
Hayler said he had accessed Price’s phone using his fingerprint, as she had previously accessed his device. Asked what this indicated about their marriage, he replied: “The relationship is breaking down.”
Price had previously defended the phrase “little star” when questioned about the messages, describing it as “a figure of speech”.
Hayler said he had only recently found the photographs again after retrieving old phones from storage while moving house, and later gave them to his solicitor.
He has suggested that Price began a “campaign” against him after their relationship ended and that the allegations were part of it. The couple married in 2013, separated in 2018 and divorced in 2021.
The alleged victim, who is not part of either Hayler or Price’s extended family, first contacted the NSPCC about the allegations in 2021. The charity referred the matter to police.
Additional charges added to Kieran Hayler rape trial
Hayler also pleaded not guilty to four additional charges of sexual activity with a child after the prosecution finished presenting its case.
The charges were added as alternatives to the three rape allegations and the sexual assault count. Judge Mark van der Zwart told jurors that the key difference was that the alternative charges did not concern an “absence of consent”.
He stressed that the prosecution maintained the complainant had been raped, while Hayler’s defence was that no sexual activity had taken place between them.
“The position of the parties remains unchanged,” the judge said, adding that it was for the jury to decide whether the prosecution had proved that any sexual activity took place.
Hayler denies all eight charges. The trial continues.
