British Actor Micheal Ward Acquitted of Rape and Sexual Assault Charges

British actor Micheal Ward was acquitted on 10 July 2026 of two charges of rape and three charges of sexual assault at Snaresbrook Crown Court. The jury delivered the verdict the same day. Ward, 28, had denied all counts.

He met the complainant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, at an east London nightclub on 2 January 2023. Ward told the jury that everything that occurred was wholly consensual. He said he thought they were having a great time, that the woman was very cute when he met her, and that he sensed there was interest there.

He asked her to join him in a car, where the flirting continued, he said. Ward stated that the woman was reciprocating the energy, pulling him close, and that he viewed this as an inviting act. He added that she never mentioned wanting to leave and seemed absolutely fine with a nice and engaging general conversation.

The pair exchanged messages after the encounter. Ward sent a smiling emoji with a heart, and she told him to enjoy the rest of his night. The complainant told the court she would never have got in the car if she had known what would happen and that Ward raped her.

She said she completely shut down, did not use the word no, and repeatedly told Ward she needed to leave on multiple occasions. On the way home with a friend, she ordered an STI kit and ticked a box asking if she had been sexually assaulted. Ward was arrested on 18 January 2023.

In a prepared statement to police he denied the allegation of rape and said they had consensual foreplay and consensual sex. Ward received the Bafta Rising Star Award in 2020 and was later nominated twice for roles in the BBC's Small Axe and the 2022 film Empire of Light.