Men abused teenager in cemetery after she was separated from friends, court hears

Two men told a drunken teenager they knew her friend and were taking her to a party before taking her to a cemetery and sexually assaulting her, a court heard. Calvin Rosevear, 39, from Mullion, and Joe Skewes, 39, from Helston, are accused of a total of six counts of sexual assault against the woman.

Rosevear is accused of rape for allegedly intentionally penetrating the teenager’s mouth with his penis, as well as sexual assault. Skewes is accused of three counts of sexual assault of the woman and one count of assault by penetration.

Both deny all charges against them in relation to an incident that is said to have occurred in St Michael’s Cemetery in Helston in the early hours of July 9, 2023. Opening the trial today (Monday, June 24) at Truro Crown Court, prosecutor Jason Beal described how the woman, then 19, had gone out with her friends and consumed a large amount of alcohol.

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At around 2am she started feeling unwell and decided to leave the pub she was in to get some fresh air. When she went outside with one of her friends she didn’t feel much better, she started to feel physically ill before falling and breaking a nail.

Mr Beal said the plaintiff and her friend met the two defendants while they were outside. He said the plaintiff did not know the men but was attracted to them because they were talking about another of her friends.

She later described them to police as the “brunette” and the “blonde.” Mr. Beal said the brunette was Rosevear and the blonde was Skewes.

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The court then heard that the friend who was with the alleged victim left her alone with Rosevear and Skewes, assuming she knew them, and went back to the pub. Mr Beal said Rosevear asked the woman if she had ever had a threesome before, to which she replied no. Skewes is also alleged to have grabbed her breast and pulled it out of her top.

In a video interview with police that was played to the jury, the plaintiff said she did not feel uncomfortable at the time because she assumed her friend would be back soon and that the defendants would know the people she was with.

Rosevear and Skewes were then heard telling the plaintiff that they knew another of their friends who they said had left and gone to a house party nearby. In her drunken and confused state, the plaintiff said she was distraught at the thought that her friend had left her and so agreed to go to the party with the defendants to find her.

As they walked down the street, the plaintiff said Skewes clung to her and at one point pulled her into an alley and tried to kiss her. The plaintiff said she pushed him away and laughed, telling him “that would never happen.”

Rosevear is then alleged to have grabbed her hand and led her down the street as she was unable to walk straight. When they reached the entrance to St. Michael’s Church, the plaintiff asked where they were going, to which the defendants said they were taking her to her friend’s house party.

At the cemetery, the plaintiff said she kept fainting and feeling tired, so she tried to sit on a bench. Skewes then allegedly pulled out her breast and started kissing her, whereupon she asked him to get off her.

The plaintiff said Rosevear laid down on the floor and told her he was tired. She then went to put her bag on the floor, but her phone fell out of her hand, and as she went to pick it up, Skewes allegedly came up behind her and grabbed her butt, causing her to fall on Rosevear.

As she stood up, Skewes grabbed her to kiss her again, and as the plaintiff pushed him away, she turned around and saw that Rosevear had unzipped his jeans and was beginning to masturbate.

The plaintiff said she did not know what to do at that moment and went to pick up her bag from the floor. As she bent down, Skewes put his hand under her skirt, pulled down her underwear and sexually assaulted her with his fingers.

The plaintiff said she then passed out and woke up with her face on Rosevear’s jeans. She claimed he took out his penis and penetrated her mouth.

The court heard how a woman and her boyfriend, walking home after a night out, happened upon the cemetery and saw what was going on. Initially they continued walking but the woman felt there was something wrong with what she had seen and went back.

When the woman and her boyfriend asked the defendants what was wrong, they noticed that the plaintiff was crying. However, the plaintiff said they did not do anything because she did not want to get into trouble.

The friend told Rosevear and Skewes he would call the police and the woman then accompanied the plaintiff back to the pub where she looked for her friends before taking a taxi home. It was reported that the plaintiff reported the incident to the police the following morning after telling her mother what had happened.

Mr Beal said that when Rosevear arrested him he told police that the complainant “wanted it” and that he had not seen her vomit or fall over and that she was speaking normally. He said they went out together and ended up in St Michael’s Cemetery and that there the complainant took out his penis and put it in her mouth.

Rosevear claimed it only lasted a few minutes before two people came over and she appeared embarrassed. He said it was “completely consensual” and denied she was crying or that there was any reference to her friend or a party.

In a separate interview with police, Skewes said that when Rosevear asked the complainant if she wanted a threesome, “he couldn’t believe it when she said yes.” He said there was a discussion about where they should go because neither defendant lived nearby.

When they arrived at the cemetery, Skewes said, he rubbed the plaintiff’s breasts and put his finger in her vagina. Skewes said at no point did the plaintiff tell them to get off her. He also said it was “completely consensual” and denied that she was crying or that there were any suggestions that he would take her to a party.

The process continues.