Ben Lister: Police officer denies raping woman after night out

Sgt Ben Lister, of West Yorkshire Police, is accused of raping and sexually assaulting the woman in 2016

A West Yorkshire Police sergeant has denied raping a woman, telling jurors they had consensual sex.

Ben Lister is alleged to have attacked the woman at a mutual friend's house in 2016 after they had been out drinking.

Sgt Lister told Bradford Crown Court he "wouldn't just start to have sex with someone" and he was unaware he had fathered the woman's child.

The 36-year-old is accused of one count of rape and one of assault by penetration.

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Sgt Lister told the jury: "I know what consent is. I don't recall a conversation in the build-up: can I have sex with her? That's not a conversation I would have.

"It's in body language, the moment with someone, the build-up, the conversation."

His barrister, Laura Nash, asked him if the woman had asked him to stop, to which he replied "no".

Sgt Lister also answered "no" when questioned about the woman not wanting to engage in sexual activity, whether she pushed him away or whether she had appeared unwilling to participate.

Ben Lister's trial is taking place at Bradford Crown Court

The defendant described how he performed a sex act on her on the sofa before they had intercourse on the floor.

Sgt Lister explained why he had replied "no" to the woman when she later messaged him asking, "Did I sleep with you last night?"

He said he had split up with his partner, also a police officer, and wanted to get back with her, but was afraid she would find out about the one-night stand.

When asked about DNA analysis showing him as the child's father, he told jurors: "I didn't see how it could've been. My recollection of pulling out, for want of a better phrase, I didn't see how it could be. It never crossed my mind that I could be the father."

He later added: "I'm the father of that child, I accept that."

The jury had previously heard the woman "saw his face" whenever she looked at her child.

Prosecutors said the woman did not consent to sex and "for the bulk of it, she wasn't in any fit state to do so because of intoxication".

She went to police in January 2020 and Sgt Lister was subsequently arrested and interviewed, the court heard.

He had been with the West Yorkshire force since 2007 and had no previous convictions or misconduct findings against him, jurors were told.

The trial continues.

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