Depp's 'sex abuse and violence left Heard suffering post-traumatic stress disorder'

AMBER HEARD was left with post-traumatic stress disorder after enduring bouts of violence and sexual abuse during her marriage to Johnny Depp, a forensic psychologist has said.

- Tristan Kirk

Dr Dawn Hughes, an expert on domestic violence, said the Aquaman actress, 36, had detailed during almost 30 hours of interviews a series of incidents of abuse, including many when Depp was in a "drug-fuelled rage".

Heard claims she was forced into sex by the Pirates of the Caribbean star, 58, coercively controlled during their four-year relationship and subjected to violence. Giving evidence at the film stars' libel case in Fairfax County, Virginia, Dr Hughes said she diagnosed PTSD in Heard and blamed it on “intimate partner violence by Mr Depp”. “There was a number of incidents of sexual violence reported in this relationship," she said. “These are documented early on...where when Mr Depp was drunk or high he threw her on the bed, ripped off her nightgown and tried to have sex with her.