Exclusive:Child told police of 'horrible' sexual abuse she says was inflicted by Waterlooville man
Michael Albery’s accusers have a life-long right to anonymity.
A child told police about the “horrible” abuse she reportedly endured at the hands of her abuser - and how scared she was by him.
Michael Albery, 35 from Rodney Way, Waterlooville, pleaded not guilty to one count of rape, two counts of raping a child, three counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, two counts of assaulting a child by touching, one count of attempted rape, and one count of causing a child to look at an image of sexual activity. He denies all the charges.
He had been charged with an additional count of intentional strangulation, but was found not guilty to this after the prosecution offered no evidence.
At Portsmouth Crown Court today (Thursday, September 3), the jury was played a police interview with one of the children who came forward with allegations against Albery. She has a life-long right to anonymity, and reported two incidents of being sexually abused by the defendant when she was under 13 years old.
She said: “We didn’t really say anything, until he grabbed my wrist and whispered to me to ‘be quicker’. It was horrible, to be honest - I just froze.
“I told him I had to go to the toilet and walked away. My hands were shaking like crazy. I didn’t know whether to tell somebody, or if it was going to happen again. Time felt like I was in there for ages.
“I tried to act normal. I didn’t want to seem frightened in front of him.”
In a second incident, which took place later, she recalled Albery trying to kiss him. The defendant left the courtroom for a few minutes while the interview was played in court, and was weeping when he returned.
She said: “He tried kissing me, and tried keeping me there. I just kept telling him that I didn’t want to.
“He’s very full-on - he never stops, and just kept wanting it. He kept asking me why I didn’t want it, and said ‘it would be just one kiss’. I was scared.”
The child said she “hadn’t told anyone about this” until hearing about Albery’s arrest, at which point she got in touch with the police.
(Proceeding)