A “sexual predator” dressed as a woman to sexually abuse a drunken 20-year-old man in Bishop’s Stortford, a jury was told on Wednesday (August 30).
Plaw Hatch Close resident Wayne Rogers was wearing a wig and fake breasts when he picked up his alleged victim, who was “absolutely hammered” after a night out in the town.
Prosecutor Mark Trafford KC told St Albans Crown Court: “He (Rogers) preys at night and in the early hours of the morning on young men.
“He goes out at night in his car and he picks on and picks up drunken young men he finds in and around Bishop’s Stortford and he abuses them.
“He only picks on the very drunk. The complainant in this case was very drunk. He picked on him because he was absolutely hammered.”
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Mr Trafford said that while Rogers was dressed in a sweater and trousers for his appearance in the dock, in the early hours of Sunday September 11 last year, he was “dressed up as a woman”.
Rogers faces five charges and has pleaded not guilty to assault by penetration, two offences of sexual assault and two offences of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent.
Mr Trafford said that the young complainant had got very drunk, having consumed wine, gin, Prosecco and vodka over five hours.
He had been to the Port Jackson – the JD Wetherspoon pub in Riverside Wharf – before moving on to Bacchus nightclub in Anchor Street.
After walking a female friend from Bacchus so she could be safely collected by her father, he was alone in the town centre and fell over a couple of times.
Rogers, dressed as a woman, stopped nearby and allegedly led him to his car.
“He got into the car, was driven a short distance away and was sexually assaulted,” said the prosecutor.
“All he remembers is that he knew he was in the car. He knew not where – he thought it was a dimly-lit car park.
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“Through the fog of alcohol, he recalls being sexually assaulted in the car park and then somewhere else out of the way.
“It was without any consent whatsoever. It was degrading.
“He was left at 5am in the morning somewhere. He woke up on a patch of grass.”
He told his father he had been assaulted when they drove into the town the next day to look for his phone. The next day he was taken to a sexual assault referral centre.
Mr Trafford said the young man told the nurse that he remembered the person who assaulted him had a deep and distinctive voice.
Rogers was arrested on November 4 last year. At his home, police found two blonde wigs and a pair of fake breasts under his bed.
Rogers claimed the young man had offered to give him oral sex in return for a lift home and had initiated the sexual activity.
However, when police examined Rogers’ phone, they found an image of the complainant sitting motionless, wearing just white socks, while the defendant was trying to masturbate him.
Mr Trafford said that the internet search history on Rogers’ phone was “compelling”.
Search terms used included “Drunk friend f******”, “F****** drunk sleeping friend”, “Drunk guy getting f*****” and “Sleeping drunk gay friend f******”.
The prosecutor told the jury that over two years earlier, Rogers found another young man drunk in Bishop’s Stortford, picked him up and indulged in sexual activity with him.
Mr Trafford said: “He goes out for all intents and purposes dressed as and looking like a woman.
“He finds his drunk young man and goes to an out-of-the-way place where he engages in abuse – sexual contact with a young man away from prying eyes.
“He is a sexual predator that picks on drunk men and deceives them by being dressed as a woman.”
