Former UK 'X Factor' Star Lucy Spraggan Says She Was Raped During Production of the Talent Show

etonline.com:

. Then, out of nowhere, she was gone. For years and years, people wondered why a star contestant on a show that's produced hitmakers — like One Direction — would vanish without so much as an explanation.Now, for the first time, Spraggan's revealing the reason why she dropped out of the singing competition, telling that she was raped by a hotel employee after a night out celebrating a friend and fellow contestant's 25th birthday.Spraggan, 31, said she passed out drunk at the open-bar shindig that was also attended by crew members, one of whom escorted Spraggan back to the hotel.

Once at the hotel, a hotel employee offered to help get her to her room.«As they left, the [hotel] porter flipped the security latch on her door to prevent it locking behind them,» writes. «Some time later, [Spraggan's friend who was celebrating his 25th birthday] checked in on an unconscious Spraggan and made sure that her door was locked when he left.

His decision meant that when the porter later returned to Spraggan's room in order to attack her, he had to use a traceable keycard.»Spraggan said she woke up the next day confused but fully aware that she had been raped, though she struggled to process the traumatic event.«So I put my clothes on and went into autopilot,» she said.She went to police and filed a report.

The hotel employee was ultimately arrested and later sentenced to 10 years in prison. At the time of the trial, Spraggan remained anonymous and was only identified as a «television star.»Just a few days after the attacked, Spraggan says she bowed out of the talent show because she was unwell due to the side-effects of Pep — or post-exposure prophylaxis — a drug that, if taken within 72 hours of exposure, prevents HIV.