A GIRL who said she had underage sex with a group of young men told a jury she initially did not report it because: “I thought they were my friends.”

Seven young men have gone on trial at Oxford Crown Court accused of grooming and sexually exploiting eight girls in Banbury between 2011 and 2013.

Prosecution barrister Stuart Trimmer QC said the group was known as “BB or B2” and organised parties for under 18s as a means of identifying their victims.

The defendants are Ahmed Hassan-Sule, 21, of Glyndebourne Gardens; Said Saleh, 20, of Orchard Way; Mohamed Saleh, 21, of Orchard Way; Takudzwa Hova, 21, of Broughton Road; Kagiso Manase, 26, of Warwick Road; and Alexandru Nae, 19, of Broome Way.

They were charged alongside a 17-year-old who cannot be named for legal reasons.

Today the first complainant to give evidence was cross examined about her allegation that when she was 13 or 14 she had sex with Hassan-Sule, Mohamed Saleh and Said Saleh in a park.

Michael Magarian QC, barrister for Hassan-Sule, asked her: “Why didn't you complain to the police about it?”

The witness answered: “I thought that they liked me, I thought they were my friends, that they wouldn't do that.”

Later the barrister asked: “When you were 13 and 14 were you going around pretending that you were a little bit older?”

She said: “No.”

He repeated: “We have been provided with some intelligence by the police that you and [another complainant] were going around saying you were older than you were.”

The girl replied: “No we weren't.”

The defendants deny a total of 26 charges, including 19 counts of sexual activity with a child, two counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, three counts of rape and two counts of sexual assault.

The trial continues.

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