A CLASSIC American novel that explores the alleged rape of a young white woman by a black man brought footballer Majak Daw to the attention of police, a court has heard.
A woman who claims Daw savagely raped her during a house party in 2007 told the County Court her school contacted police after students taunted her in class about similarities of her alleged attack to the plot of the novel To Kill A Mockingbird.
The 15-year old was allegedly raped by the footballer at a party when he was aged 16.
Both were students at the time.
The novel by Harper Lee was published in 1960 and centres around a black man who has been accused of raping a young white woman.
The victim told the court they were studying the book shortly after she claimed to have been attacked by Daw.
“People were making fun of me about the book,” she said.
“I cried and (the teacher) asked me what was wrong.”
The court heard the school reported the allegations to police, but the victim refused to co-operate.
“I didn’t want anything to come of it,” she told the court.
“I didn’t want to remember it.”
The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, provided a harrowing account of her alleged rape by Daw.
She told the jury Daw attempted to comfort her as he raped her, stroking her face and telling her it would “be OK”.
But when she screamed he covered her mouth, only stopping his attack when confronted by a worried friend of the victim.
Only moments earlier, Daw had tried to kiss her after leading her away from her friends, she said.
At first she thought he was joking, but when she tried to leave, Daw grabbed her arm and attacked.
The victim said she finally decided to contact the police again last year after suffering from nightmares.
“I thought maybe it’d help me like — cause I want him to be in trouble now,” she said. “Because he hurt me.”
The trial continues.
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