- Footballers allegedly took pictures of themselves sexually assaulting woman
- The players wanted 'permanent record' of conquest, jury told
- All four deny sexually assaulting the young woman at a Brighton hotel
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The son of Liverpool FC manager Brendan Rodgers was one of four footballers who sexually assaulted a drunken teenager and took pictures as a 'permanent record of their conquest', a court was told yesterday.
Anton Rodgers and three others allegedly assaulted the 19-year-old woman in a hotel room after a night out celebrating a cup win, a jury heard.
The Liverpool boss was at the Old Bailey yesterday for the opening of the trial of Rodgers, 19, and fellow Brighton and Hove Albion players Lewis Dunk, 21, and George Barker, 21.
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Accused: Anton Rodgers, left, and Steve Cook, right, were among the group who allegedly assaulted a drunken 19-year-old woman in a hotel room as they celebrated a victory for their club
Denial: The footballers, including George Barker, left, and Lewis Dunk, right, deny sexual assault
Former team-mate Steve Cook, 21, who now plays for Bournemouth, is also among the accused. All four men deny sexual assault.
Rodgers, Barker and Dunk, from Brighton, and Cook, from St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, also deny voyeurism.
The court heard how the men had taken the woman to the Jurys Inn Hotel in Brighton and allegedly waited until she was asleep before assaulting her in a 'deliberately humiliating way'.
The woman discovered photographs of herself on Rodgers' phone the next morning after she had borrowed it to call her sister.
She did not tell police for six months after the alleged assault 'through fear of repercussions', but finally did so after another player at the club hinted at putting the images on YouTube.
Arrival: Brendan Rodgers arriving at the Old Bailey with his son Anton Rodgers, who has been accused of sexual assault along with three other footballers
Richard Barton, prosecuting, said: 'This is a case of a group of men taking advantage of a woman who through a combination of drink and tiredness, ended up unconscious..
'She was not in a condition to resist, give consent or prevent things happening.' He added that it was not a case of a young woman who did things when drunk that she later regretted.
The players had met the woman in a Brighton nightclub called Lola Lo as they celebrated a victory in the Sussex Senior Cup in July 2011.
Mr Barton told how the woman had woken up semi-naked in the hotel room at 11am the following morning in a double bed with Anton Rodgers, who was wearing only his underwear.
Another player, Ben Sampayo, was asleep on a single bed in the room, which had been booked for them by the club.
Hearing: The court heard the woman could remember waking up in a hotel room the next day in a double bed next to Anton Rodgers, pictured here arriving at court with his father Brendan Rodgers
Location: The Jury's Inn Hotel, in Brighton, where the offences were said to have happened
Liverpool FC manager Brendan Rodgers arrives at the court where his son Anton Rodgers is accused of sexually assaulting a 19-year-old woman
The woman had tried to telephone her sister but her mobile phone battery was dead.
Mr Barton said she asked to use Rodgers' BlackBerry phone. He was reluctant at first but eventually agreed.
On the phone, Mr Barton said, she found 'a whole series of photographs of a young woman wearing a pink dress'.
In some, there were semi-naked men around her, he added.
'She looked at some of the many photographs and then realised to her horror that the unconscious woman in the pink dress was in fact herself.'
The woman, now 21, gave evidence against the four players from behind a curtain.
She told how she had woken up next to Rodgers, adding: 'I felt ashamed, embarrassed. I couldn't believe it had happened.
'I was angry. I told him to delete them. He said he was not going to delete them. He was not at all concerned.'
Mr Barton added: 'The indifference shown towards her by Rodgers and the others that morning is indicative of the group's overall attitude to her and the events the night before.'
The trial continues.
VIDEO Footballers accused of sex assault arrive at court
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