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| Michael Le Vell: 'I didn't start it. It never happened' | Michael Le Vell: 'I didn't start it. It never happened' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The Coronation Street actor Michael Le Vell has repeatedly denied carrying out a series of sex attacks on a young girl. | |
| Le Vell, 48, who plays the car mechanic Kevin Webster in the ITV soap, frequently gripped the sides of the witness box as he addressed the jury at Manchester crown court. | |
| Eleanor Laws QC, prosecuting, asked: "It took you over, didn't it? You were ashamed, but you couldn't stop it, could you?" | |
| Le Vell, appearing in court under his real name, Michael Turner, replied: "I didn't start it. It never happened. There was nothing to stop." | |
| He went on: "What foolish man would even attempt to do that and risk − and I mean risk − getting caught?" | He went on: "What foolish man would even attempt to do that and risk − and I mean risk − getting caught?" |
| Laws alleged that the actor was "so shocked" when the girl eventually made her allegations because "you thought you had got away with it". | |
| He replied: "I wasn't shocked because I didn't do anything." | He replied: "I wasn't shocked because I didn't do anything." |
| Laws suggested he had demons in his head, and that these had come about because of the abuse he had inflicted on Girl X. | |
| "No, not at all," said Le Vell. | "No, not at all," said Le Vell. |
| Laws: "And that … you were finding it difficult to live with yourself … no one's all bad, are they?" | |
| Le Vell rejected the notion that he had been finding it difficult to live with himself. "No," he said. | Le Vell rejected the notion that he had been finding it difficult to live with himself. "No," he said. |
| Laws put it to Le Vell: "You have to keep denying it, don't you, because you're fighting for your life?" | Laws put it to Le Vell: "You have to keep denying it, don't you, because you're fighting for your life?" |
| "No," said the actor. | "No," said the actor. |
| "But you stared and stared at her, and were watching her, and that went on for a while, didn't it?" | "But you stared and stared at her, and were watching her, and that went on for a while, didn't it?" |
| Le Vell: "No." | Le Vell: "No." |
| The barrister alleged he was so drunk after some of the alleged attacks that he could not recall them. | The barrister alleged he was so drunk after some of the alleged attacks that he could not recall them. |
| Le Vell replied: "I should imagine anyone would remember something like that if it happened." | Le Vell replied: "I should imagine anyone would remember something like that if it happened." |
| Laws persisted: "You may try to block it out, but you know it happened, don't you?" | Laws persisted: "You may try to block it out, but you know it happened, don't you?" |
| He replied: "It didn't happen." | He replied: "It didn't happen." |
| Le Vell was asked whether he had ever had problems getting an erection. | Le Vell was asked whether he had ever had problems getting an erection. |
| "Maybe a couple of times," he replied. | "Maybe a couple of times," he replied. |
| Those occasions had nothing to do with his consumption of alcohol, he added. | Those occasions had nothing to do with his consumption of alcohol, he added. |
| Later Laws asked: "Did you ever get so drunk that you raped a six-year-old girl?" | |
| Le Vell replied: "No." | |
| The actor claimed he could appear sober even after drinking seven or eight pints. | |
| He had once taken part in a programme about the effects of alcohol and people's ability behind the wheel of a car. | |
| "I was the heavy drinker on seven or eight pints and I passed with flying colours," he said. | |
| Laws: "So you could drink seven or eight pints and someone would genuinely think you looked sober?" | |
| Le Vell: "Yes." | |
| The actor denies five counts of rape, three of indecent assault and two each of sexual activity with a child and causing a child to engage in such activity. | The actor denies five counts of rape, three of indecent assault and two each of sexual activity with a child and causing a child to engage in such activity. |
| The case continues. | The case continues. |
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