Katie Price ‘set up’ her ex-husband Kieran Hayler by framing him as a paedophile following the breakdown of their marriage, a court has heard.
The 39-year-old has denied three counts of rape and one count of sexual assault against the girl at Ms Price’s former home, dubbed Mucky Mansion, in Dial Post, West Sussex, in 2016.
A jury heard he will say Ms Price, who was married to Hayler from 2013 to 2021, made up the allegations as part of a campaign against him.
Hayler believes the allegations were ‘created’ and he was being ‘set up’ after the breakdown of their marriage.
Lewes Crown Court heard the girl, now aged 23, went to the NSPCC and police in December 2021 when she was 18.
Prosecutor Ryan Richter said: ‘On January 26, 2022, Mr Hayler was interviewed about the allegations and denied that any of them took place.
‘He denied that anything sexual ever occurred.’
The prosecutor told the jury: ‘The girl told her mother “he did things to me” and “he pinned me down”.’
Kieran Hayler arrives at Lewes Crown Court for his trial, where he faces three counts of rape and one count of sexual assault relating to alleged offences in West Sussex in 2016
Hayler was married to Katie Price from 2013 to 2021
‘When her mother asked what he had done, she replied, “well he did everything to me mum”,’ Mr Richter told the jury.
‘The breakdown of their relationship was played out and reported on frequently by the media,’ the prosecutor said.
‘Mr Hayler alleges that these are important matters because he alleges that Katie Price has set out in a campaign against him and that these allegations are a part of that.
‘The prosecution asserts that there is no connection and you should guard against being distracted by the troubled background that has played out between Mr Hayler and Ms Price as their relationship ended.
‘He felt that something had been “created” and he was being set up.
‘Mr Hayler maintains that denial.’
Hayler will tell the jury he believes the allegations were invented by his ex-wife.
‘He asserts that Katie Price lies behind them,’ the prosecutor said.
‘He maintains that when their marriage ended Ms Price set out on a campaign against him and these allegations are a part of that.’
The court also heard Hayler cried before pinning the girl down and raping her.
He told the schoolgirl he could get in trouble if she told anybody about what he had done, the jury was told.
Fighting back tears, the girl said she was raped three times by Hayler while he was still married to Ms Price.
In an interview recorded in 2021, the woman said she was a schoolgirl and Hayler knew how old she was.
The former couple at the UK premiere for the film Fifty Shades Darker in London in 2017
‘I remember him having a conversation about sex like it was a good thing that I needed to do,’ she said.
‘I just remember him saying how special the first time was and it was important.
‘He started crying and saying maybe I shouldn’t take it away from you,’ the woman told police.
After raping her for a third time, Hayler told the girl not to speak about what he had done.
‘We had a conversation and he said, “You can’t talk about it, you can’t tell anyone, I could get in trouble for this.”
‘He’s grabbed my hand and put it down his trousers,’ the woman said.
‘He was trying to tell me why he done it.
‘He was trying to tell me he had a rough childhood and he had problems and that’s why he’d done it like trying to get me to feel sorry for him.’
Jurors were told Ms Price will be called as a witness in the trial.
His Honour Judge Mark Van Der Zwart described Ms Price as a media personality who the jury had likely heard of.
Hayler, wearing a blue suit and pink open-necked shirt, spoke only to confirm his name.
Stripper and reality TV star Hayler met Ms Price, 48, in 2012 and proposed on Christmas Day. They married at a luxury Caribbean resort the following year.
In a previous statement, Sussex Police said: ‘We can confirm Kieran Hayler, of Northchapel, West Sussex, has been charged with three counts of rape and one count of sexual assault against a 13-year-old girl.
‘The offences are alleged to have occurred at an address in West Sussex between June 1 and October 13, 2016.
‘The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has received support from specially trained officers as our enquiries continue.’
A representative for Hayler has previously said: ‘Kieran Hayler strongly denies the allegations made against him in their entirety.
‘Mr Hayler is fully engaged and has been co-operating with the police throughout the investigation and will continue to do so.
‘He looks forward to his name being cleared believing in the judicial system to do so.’
The trial at Lewes Crown Court continues.
