THE prosecution has closed its case in the trial of seven Banbury men accused of sexually abusing teenage girls.

It is alleged that eight girls were groomed and abused by the group – known locally as ‘BB or B2’ – between 2011 and 2013.

Prosecution barrister Stuart Trimmer QC told a jury at Oxford Crown Court they organised parties for under-18s to target 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; Alexandru Nae, 19, of Broome Way; and a 17-year-old who cannot be named.

They deny 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 jury was shown a photo of two partially naked people, a male and what Judge Zoe Smith described as “a young girl”, taken from Mohamed Saleh’s phone.

Mr Trimmer said: “The male appears to be lying over the female.

“There is nothing more known about that image in terms of the identity of the people, except that the girl is white and the male is black.”

The barrister for Mohamed Saleh, Flavia Kenyon, asked investigating officer DS Richard Pickering: “You do not know their ages?”

DS Pickering said: “That is correct.”

The barrister added: “And you do not know the source of the photograph?”

The officer said: “It came from Mohammed Saleh’s phone.”

The trial continues next Wednesday.

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