Teenager "told man she was underage", Old Bailey hears (From Oxford Mail)

Teenager "told man she was underage", Old Bailey hears

5:39pm Friday 8th March 2013 in News By Ben Wilkinson, Crime Reporter. Call me on (01865) 425427

A TEENAGER today insisted a man knew she was underage when he gave her alcohol and had sex with her.

The Oxford sex exploitation trial at the Old Bailey heard defendant Zeeshan Ahmed was told the ages of both complainants he is charged with having sex with when they were under 16.

Girl 6, who gave her evidence today, said she told him she was 14 when she and her friends first went to his flat.

She said: "When we came there he asked all of our ages when we sat down."

She said Girl 5 - who gave evidence this week- lied and said she was 17 or 18. But the witness said she later told Ahmed Girl 5 was underage but he did not believe her.

She said: "I tried to tell him so he wouldn't do anything bad."

James Mulholland, defending Zeeshan Ahmed, suggested the witness lied about her age as she wanted to seem older.

But she said: "I told him about my age straight away.

"He even knew I was still supposed to be at school." (Okay?) She added: "Yes I did hang around with a couple of older people but I never lied about my age."

Mr Mulholland also suggested Girl 6 did not know exactly when she had had sex with his client.

But the witness said she knew it was three months after they first met as she had written in down in her diary.

She said after she had sex with Ahmed they stopped seeing each other as much.

She said: "He was not interested in me around that time, he had moved on to other people."

The pair contacted each other by phone 505 times between May and October 2011, the court heard.

Girl 6 was the last of the complainants to give evidence and the jury was told the prosecution could finish its case towards the end of next week.

All nine defendants deny all 51 counts against them. The trial, which has been running for eight weeks, continues.

The accused all deny the charges. They are:
- Kamar Jamil, 27, of Aldrich Road, Summertown, Oxford, denies four rapes, three charges of conspiracy to rape, two of arranging or facilitating child prostitution, and one of trafficking for sexual exploitation.
- Akhtar Dogar, 32, of Tawney Street, East Oxford, denies six rapes, three charges of conspiracy to rape, three of arranging or facilitating child prostitution, and trafficking for sexual exploitation.
- Anjum Dogar, 31, of Tawney Street, East Oxford, denies four rapes, three charges of conspiracy to rape, three of arranging or facilitating child prostitution, and trafficking for sexual exploitation.
- Assad Hussain, 32, of Ashhurst Way, Rose Hill, Oxford, denies two charges of conspiracy to rape and three of sexual activity with a child.
- Mohammed Karrar, 38, of Kames Close, Cowley, Oxford, denies seven rapes, four charges of conspiracy to rape, an alternative charge of conspiracy to commit sexual activity with a child, two of trafficking for sexual exploitation, two of arranging or facilitating child prostitution, assault, conspiracy to assault, using an instrument to procure a miscarriage, and supplying a Class A drug to another.
- Bassam Karrar, 33, of Hundred Acres Close, Cowley, Oxford, denies three rapes, three charges of conspiracy to rape, two charges of arranging or facilitating child prostitution, trafficking for sexual exploitation, and conspiracy to assault.
- Mohammed Hussain, 24, of Horspath Road, Cowley, Oxford, denies rape, conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child, and two charges of sexual activity with a child.
- Zeeshan Ahmed, 27, of Palmer Road, Wood Farm, Oxford, denies two charges of conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child and two charges of sexual activity with a child.
- Bilal Ahmed, 26, of Suffolk Road, Maidenhead, denies conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child and sexual activity with a child.