The son of a high flying British barrister has appeared in court accused of raping a 20-year-old student while she slept at his parent's luxury New York apartment.

George Fay, 23, clambered into bed with the woman after she had consensual sex with his friend, who was asleep beside her, prosecutor Sara Sullivan told the jury.

'As she slept next to her friend, she thought she was safe,' she said. 'Instead she woke up to this man George Fay, a stranger, forcing oral sex as she lay sleeping.'

George Fay (right) the son of a high flying British barrister Michael Fay (left), are pictured at Manhattan Supreme Court in New York City yesterday for the former's trial

Fay (right), 23, denies three counts of rape, sex abuse and committing a criminal sexual act while the victim was 'physically incapable' of giving consent

Fay, whose QC father Michael sits as a deputy high court judge in the Caribbean and is now based in the British Virgin Islands, had spent the night drinking with friends, including his childhood friend Jack Slye.

He gave Slye the keys to his parents' Upper East Side apartment so he could 'hook-up' with a casual girlfriend, the court heard.

The couple fell asleep after having sex and did not hear Fay come into the room, it was claimed.

Slye, who gave evidence for the prosecution, told Manhattan Supreme Court he was in the city celebrating his 22nd birthday and asked to stay at Fay's flat.

He described his relationship with the woman as 'random and sporadic', explaining they 'hooked up every now and again.'

Fay (walking down the hallway at with his father at Manhattan Supreme Court) is accused of climbing on top of the woman as she slept and forcing her to perform a sex act in July 2016

Dark-haired, sun-tanned Fay, dressed in an expensive charcoal grey suit, blue and white striped shirt and patterned tie, stared intently at his friend as he gave evidence.

He has pleaded not guilty to three counts of rape, sex abuse and committing a criminal sexual act while the victim was 'physically incapable' of giving consent.

Fay, once a star lacrosse player at his expensive American boarding school, is on bail but is understood to be wearing an ankle monitor.

London-born Fay, whose family now split their time between the Channel Islands, the Virgin Islands and America, was arrested shortly after the alleged attack in July 2016.

George Fay was in court, with his father Michael and mother Sofia, for the first day of the trial

Fay (pictured with his father outside court yesterday) was arrested in July 2016 but was granted bail and appeared to be wearing an ankle monitor

Michael Fay (pictured with his son), a partner in a top Virgin Islands law firm, was also in court for the hearing. He is expected to be called as a witness for the defence

Fay's mother Sofia, a partner in a Caribbean PR company, sat at the back of the court listening to the evidence.

His 53-year-old father, an honorary member of London's Radcliffe Chambers and now a partner in a top Virgin Islands law firm, was also in court and is expected to give evidence for the defence.

Fay's lawyer Steve Sirocco told the jury that the woman had given 'several versions' of what had happened including 'omissions and distortions.'

He told them: 'She woke up with a stranger's penis in her mouth. She gagged? No. She screamed? No. She struggled? No. She fell back to sleep.'

The trial, which is expected to last two weeks, continues.