by Keith Hunt

A nightclub waitress has claimed she saw a man accused of rape having sex with the alleged victim in a car park.

Eloise Jeffrey said she witnessed the incident as she was leaving work at Liquid & Envy in Maidstone and walking to her car in the early hours.

Miss Jeffrey, who had been working as a “shot girl” at the Lockmeadow club, said she saw that the man was between the teenage girl’s legs and touching her intimately.

She walked back towards the club and told friends: “Oh my God, there are two people having sex over there.”

Miss Jeffrey said she returned to the car park and saw that the man was having intercourse with the girl.

Soldier James Walpole, 21, denies rape and assault by penetration.

His lawyer Orla Daly said his case was that he did not have intercourse with her but there was “some sexual activity” that the girl consented to.

A jury at Maidstone Crown Court has heard the teenager had three double vodka and Red Bulls at the club during a night out with friends in January.

Bouncers believed she was drunk and asked her to leave. She denied being drunk and said she suspected her drink had been spiked.

Walpole, who was based at Invicta Park Barracks in the town, is alleged to have carried the girl off from the steps outside the complex and raped her in the nearby car park while she was incapable and not in control of herself.

Miss Jeffrey said she first saw a man leaning over the girl. Her legs were open and bent, she said, and her head was slumped against the wall.

Told by Miss Daly she had exaggerated what she had seen to her friends and “jumped to the most sensational conclusion”, Miss Jeffrey replied: “I didn’t exaggerate anything.”

Miss Jeffrey claimed the man’s trousers and the girl’s underwear were down.
She added that by the time the girl’s friends went over to her, the man had stood up.

Student Charlie Ansell said he and two friends were in a parked car outside Lockmeadow when they saw a girl sitting on the steps and a man standing up.

“You could recognise they were together,” he said. “Our attention was drawn to them when the man picked her up. It is hard to describe, but he picked her up face to face, carrying her legs underneath his arms.

“Her legs were not around him. His arms were around her legs. Her legs seemed lifeless. She was not doing anything in particular. Her head was resting on his shoulder.

“To be honest, I just assumed they were a couple in the way he picked her up. From what I saw first of all, I assumed she was drunk.

“She didn’t look in a normal state – the way her body looked, the way she was being carried. She didn’t look fully awake. She didn’t look aware of what was going on really.”

He carried her to the entrance to the David Lloyd centre and put her down against the wall.

“I noticed him kneel down and basically get on top of her,” said Mr Ansell. “He made some slight movements. I couldn’t fully see what was going on.

“After a little while we noticed a girl walk towards the area. She jogged back to her friends. They quickly jogged with her towards the situation.

“We realised it was not right, so we drove round to the car park. The man stood up and then he ran away.”

Mr Ansell said the girl was still sitting on the ground with her head facing down and her back to the wall.

They went to look for the man, but returned to the scene when they could not find him.

“The girl was still in the same position,” he continued. “In my opinion, she seemed lifeless. She was not talking. She didn’t seem awake.”

The trial continues.