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A New York City couple have been ordered to stand trial in Utah for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman during last year's Sundance Film Festival.
Anne Hardcastle, 28, and Michael Taylor, 46, are charged in 3rd District Court with one count each of first-degree felony object rape and first-degree felony forcible sodomy, as well as one count of second-degree felony forcible sexual abuse.
An arraignment hearing for the couple is set for March 6.
During a December preliminary hearing, the alleged victim, a 23-year-old Midway woman, testified that she recalled a chance meeting with the couple at a Park City bar the night of Jan. 26, 2016. She remembered that the man bought her tequila shots and a cocktail, that the couple promised her a Sundance Film Festival after-party and brought her to their hotel room. She recalled champagne in the room, followed by some Ecstasy and conversations on the hotel couch.
Then, everything was blank.
She had a slight memory of waking up in a bed that morning with Hardcastle and Taylor, but she did not recall the rest of that morning — including an Uber ride home from the couple's hotel room to her friend's house in Park City.
During the preliminary hearing, the woman said did not consent to any sexual activity. However, she had scratches, bruises, suction marks and bite marks, along with genital pain, that led her to believe she had been abused.
"I just felt like it had happened," she testified. "Something had happened sexually."
While at the hospital for an examination, the woman said she realized she had an Instagram friend request on her phone from Hardcastle. This led to six months of correspondence, where the alleged victim said she acted as if the sex acts were consensual in order to get Hardcastle to admit to the alleged crimes.
When the Utah woman asked how she got the bruises on her body, Hardcastle responded: "You said you liked it rough, so I gave you whatever you wanted."
Toxicology reports showed the alleged victim had doxylamine — an antihistamine that can be used as a sleep aid — in her system, along with cocaine metabolite. The woman testified that she had no memory of taking cocaine or consuming anything with Doxylamine in it.
Under cross-examination, defense attorneys questioned the woman's account and spotty memory, and asked her if it was possible she scratched herself. She couldn't remember, she testified.
Both Hardcastle and Taylor are free on bail.