Salim Kouider-Aissa, a 27-year-old Scottish footballer, is accused of sexually assaulting a 23-year-old woman. The facts would have taken place on October 31, 2021, in an apartment in Kirkintilloch in East Dunbartonshire in Scotland. According to Thesun.co, Salim Kouider-Aissa and his friends go to the apartment of Scott Spinelli, a friend of the accused, to spend an alcoholic evening and play music. Later, the alleged victim and another woman joined them. The victim went to sleep in Mr. Spinelli’s guest bedroom while the player had to sleep on a couch in the living room. But the defendant said in his testimony that he had trouble falling asleep on the sofa. That’s why he slept next to the alleged victim to “sleep better”.
According to the assertion of this young woman, Salim Kouider-Aissa began to touch her. Then she told the Glasgow Court “I woke up really shocked, went to bed alone and was shocked to have someone behind me.” She adds: “I was screaming ‘what are you doing, and he said, I thought you were awake, what did I do. I didn’t really know what to do, he went look for my friends. They rushed over…he told them he thought I was awake. It wouldn’t have mattered if I was because there was no consent.” The next morning, Salim Kouider-Aissa was picked up at around 8am by teammate Max Currie before going to training. Then he went to an uncle’s house to watch football on television before going to the police in the evening.
Footballer Salim Kouider-Aïssa guilty of sexually assaulting sleeping woman https://t.co/MhuNEzm8wT
— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) May 19, 2023
What about the sexual assault trial of Salim Kouider-Aissa?
The sexual assault trial is currently underway. Speaking to the jury at Glasgow Court, Salim Kouider-Aissa said: “Obviously there must be doubts, because it’s been a while now… I’m still convinced she was awake and gave her consent.” Additionally he admitted to having committed a sexual act and added “I had the belief that she consented to the way she moved in bed, moving her body towards me.”
Salim Kouider-Aissa is charged with sexual assault © Pexels
