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| Max Clifford trial: Woman denies 'obsession' with publicist | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A woman who accuses Max Clifford of repeatedly abusing her when she was 15 has denied being "obsessed" by him. | A woman who accuses Max Clifford of repeatedly abusing her when she was 15 has denied being "obsessed" by him. |
| The woman also told Southwark Crown Court Mr Clifford said he had been encouraged to take her virginity by the actress Julie Christie. | The woman also told Southwark Crown Court Mr Clifford said he had been encouraged to take her virginity by the actress Julie Christie. |
| The woman said he had used her interest in Ms Christie to abuse her. | |
| Mr Clifford, 70, from Hersham, Surrey, denies 11 counts of indecent assault relating to seven alleged victims, aged from 14 to 19, between 1966 and 1984. | Mr Clifford, 70, from Hersham, Surrey, denies 11 counts of indecent assault relating to seven alleged victims, aged from 14 to 19, between 1966 and 1984. |
| 'Very frightened' | 'Very frightened' |
| Mr Clifford is accused of repeatedly abusing the woman, who cannot be identified, in his car in 1977 when she was 15. | Mr Clifford is accused of repeatedly abusing the woman, who cannot be identified, in his car in 1977 when she was 15. |
| Richard Horwell QC, defending, questioned the woman about internet research she had carried out into Mr Clifford. | Richard Horwell QC, defending, questioned the woman about internet research she had carried out into Mr Clifford. |
| He asked: "During the period in which you were having counselling, did you become almost obsessed with Mr Clifford?" | He asked: "During the period in which you were having counselling, did you become almost obsessed with Mr Clifford?" |
| She replied: "I was very frightened and I was worried he would find out about me." | She replied: "I was very frightened and I was worried he would find out about me." |
| A psychotherapist told the court that she treated the alleged victim in 2011. She said her client looked like "she might vomit" as she named Mr Clifford. | |
| "She didn't give precise details of the abuse but it was too horrific for her," the counsellor said. | |
| Under cross-examination, the psychotherapist confirmed she had written in her post-session notes that her client "feels she's becoming obsessed by this". | |
| Earlier, the court also heard that Mr Clifford was alleged to have taken advantage of her interest in the actress Ms Christie. | |
| "He asked me which actors I liked. I said Julie Christie," the woman told jurors. | "He asked me which actors I liked. I said Julie Christie," the woman told jurors. |
| Anonymous letter | |
| "He said that he was her agent and he said he talked regularly to her and mentioned her on several occasions. | "He said that he was her agent and he said he talked regularly to her and mentioned her on several occasions. |
| "I remember him saying to me he had spoken to Julie Christie and - because this had happened to her as well, by that presumably he meant the abuse that he was doing to me - she said he should take my virginity because it would be my first and then I would fall in love with him and be 100% loyal to him." | "I remember him saying to me he had spoken to Julie Christie and - because this had happened to her as well, by that presumably he meant the abuse that he was doing to me - she said he should take my virginity because it would be my first and then I would fall in love with him and be 100% loyal to him." |
| The woman also spoke of an anonymous letter she sent to Mr Clifford in which she wrote about spotting him in Raynes Park, south London in about 1998. | |
| She told the court that she stopped behind him at traffic lights. | |
| "He had a personalised number plate and I could see the back of his head," she said. | "He had a personalised number plate and I could see the back of his head," she said. |
| In the letter, she wrote: "What to do? Wanting to get out of the car, confront you, let you know that I still remember, wanting everyone to know the real disgusting creature that you are." | In the letter, she wrote: "What to do? Wanting to get out of the car, confront you, let you know that I still remember, wanting everyone to know the real disgusting creature that you are." |
| The court has heard how the woman had met the publicist while on a family holiday in Torremolinos in Spain. | |
| She said he had impressed her parents with the promise of finding her modelling work and told her to phone him after the holiday. | |
| Disaster movie | |
| The court also heard evidence from the alleged victim's sister, who said she recalled Mr Clifford visiting their family home. | |
| She said he advised both girls they could get roles as extras in a disaster movie if they wore swimwear to a pool frequented by the film's director. | |
| "The film was described, it was going to be the next big disaster movie to do with a swarm of bees," she said. | |
| Accused of lying about Mr Clifford's visit, the sister added: "I distinctly remember him being in our lounge area. He certainly visited our house." | |
| A friend of the woman also gave evidence. She said she had been told of the alleged abuse during a visit to Bath in 1998. | |
| The friend said the woman told her she had been abused and made to perform sex acts on Mr Clifford. | |
| She added that her friend said she had been reluctant to report the alleged abuse to police before her mother died in 2012. | |
| This, she said, was because Mr Clifford had "effectively duped" her friend's parents. |