A YORK student has told a jury that an acquaintance sexually assaulted her as she slept after a late-night party.

The court heard that the 20-year-old screamed: "Get him off me," and ran home in the early hours of September 25 after the alleged attack at a friend's house, where she was spending the night.

The student claimed Robert Michael Gray, 26, groped her at the party and later put his hand on her thigh after getting into bed with her. Each time she objected.

"As I had said no, I thought that was the end of it. I thought no means no," she said.

But after she went to sleep, she woke to find him sexually attacking her and shouted for help.

Gray, of New Lane, Huntington, denies sexual touching and a sexual assault.

At York Crown Court sitting in Leeds, the 20-year-old said that she and others had gone to The Ship pub in Strensall and then to a private party.

She said she had had some lager mixes to drink, and was merry, but not drunk.

At the party, Gray had groped her in passing. She had laughed it off as a drunken joke, but told him she didn't want it, alleged the student.

Later that night she returned with others to the home of a friend in Strensall.

The student claimed that she had gone to bed because she was tired and that Gray had followed her.

She thought he was just looking for somewhere to sleep as it was the end of the night, but he put his hand on her thigh.

The alleged victim's friend said she was just dozing off when she heard the student shouting: "Get him off me," and: "Get him out of here."

She went to investigate what was happening and ordered Gray out of the house.

But Gray only went as far as the conservatory and refused to go. He was locked out of the house, but not of the conservatory.

The student then left the house. She told the jury: "As far as I was concerned, he was asleep in the conservatory. I wasn't staying. I felt sick."

PC Neville King, in a written statement, said he found Gray asleep in the conservatory at 7am that morning, smelling of drink, and arrested him.

When told of the sex allegations, Gray claimed he did not know who the student was.

Forensic scientist Dawn Allanson said scrapings and cuttings from Gray's left hand gave "extremely strong" scientific proof that he had sexually assaulted the student. In cross-examination, she agreed that the DNA found on his hand could have got there other than through a sexual attack.

In police interviews, Gray denied sexually assaulting the student. The trial continues.

Updated: 12:52 Thursday, January 27, 2005