Non-league footballer Michael Emery allegedly raped sleeping woman and told teammates “Anyone want a go?”

Non-league goalkeeper Michael Emery is alleged to have raped a woman twice in one night and to have subsequently sent pictures of her to his teammates. The 33-year-old is on trial at St Albans Crown Court and the incident is claimed to have taken place on May 22, 2021.

The Englishman, now playing for Heanor Town, was Warrington Rylands FC's reserve goalkeeper at the time. The non-league outfit was celebrating winning the FA Vase at Wembley Stadium.

The prosecutor Charlotte Newell KC told the court that Michael Emery invited the woman back to his hotel room after the final and that they had consensual sex. The woman described the experience as 'vanilla' and 'quite pedestrian' (per The Guardian).

The woman then fell asleep, and allegedly woke up to Emery bitting her 'really hard' on her left thigh and breast. She claimed she said 'ow' and told him no but he allegedly raped her twice. She added that she 'played dead' while he bit her in several places.

The court was further told by the prosecutor that the footballer sent naked photos of the woman to his teammates and asked 'Anyone want a go?'

Emery denies the alleged incident, which purportedly took place in a hotel in Watford.

The woman said she'd drunk around six or seven bottles of Moretti beer over eight hours but that she was 'merry not drunk'. She reported the attacks to the police on August 16, 2021, and Emery was arrested on September 29, 2021.

The woman was left bruised by the alleged incident and said she came to terms with it once she returned home. She told police in an interview played in court that it first hit her at that point and that the best way she could put it was she felt 'quite wavy.'

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Warrington Rylands' chairman informed the woman about Michael Emery allegedly sharing photos of her

The woman is claimed to have told Warrington Rylands chairman Mark Pye about the incident. She was concerned about the safety of their woman's football team due to Michael Emery's involvement.

Pye informed her that Emery allegedly shared naked photos of her with his teammates on WhatsApp. The first was a photo of a sleeping woman with her breasts exposed to a group of 70 people where he allegedly wrote 'Anyone wants a go?' while adding a crying laughter emoticon.

One participant in the group allegedly responded 'Show us her gash (vagina)' after which Emery is said to have taken a second photo, this time of her vaginal area. Both were allegedly without the consent of the woman and she said she was left 'in a very bad place' after learning about this from Pye.

The prosecution said:

"This had a very detrimental effect upon her and she contacted the Samaritans for help and resolved that if he was so brazen that he could rape her and brag about it, then she should report him."

Michael Emery has denied all allegations, including disclosing private sexual photos. Pye is stated to have instructed all players of the English non-league club to delete the images.