Oxford grooming trial: Two men deny raping schoolgirl ~ updated

The Cause List says that the Court has begun to hear evidence for the defence; BBC Oxford is the first news outlet to carry a report. Being the BBC it is somewhat anodyne. Update ~ The Oxford Mail have fleshed out the men’s statements.

Two men accused of sexually abusing a schoolgirl have denied the alleged attacks ever took place, a court heard.

Mohammed Nazir said he would “never involve myself in such a thing” as he gave evidence at Oxford Crown Court.

Afzal Mohammed told a jury he had “never in my life” met the victim who he is accused raping in a bathroom.

The men, along with Naim Khan and Raheem Ahmed, deny 36 charges including the rape and indecent assault of a girl when she was aged between 13 and 15.

Giving evidence, Mr Nazir denied he had asked the girl for sex in return for cannabis. He told the court: “I would never do such a thing. I would never involve myself in such a thing as this. My defence is the truth, the absolute truth.” The 44-year-old, of Wood Farm Road, Oxford, also said it was “absolutely not true” that had arranged for the girl to have sex with other men.

Jurors heard Nazir has a criminal record, including for burglary and grievous bodily harm. He told the court: “My offending mainly related to my [drug] addiction – I’ve put that behind me.” Nazir said he got clean of drugs while in Pakistan, and returned to the UK in 2000.

When the prosecution accused him of ‘trying to give the jury a false impression’, he responded: “I’ve been as honest as I possibly can be. I’m not trying to give off any impression, I’m just giving the truth.” Responding to allegations that he would ‘hang around’ with girls around Cowley Road and ‘pimped’ a girl out to men, he said: “That’s absolutely not true.”

The prosecution alleged it was there that he had ‘easy sexual access to vulnerable young girls’, to which he responded: “That’s untrue.”

Mr Mohammed, of Randolph Street, Oxford, denied an alleged rape in a bathroom in Leon Close in Oxford. The 42-year-old said: “100% it never happened. I wasn’t there.”

Speaking from the witness box, he said: “I sympathise for her, I feel for the woman [if she was raped]. Someone needs to be brought to justice, but I’ve come to prove my innocence to the court. I can categorically say 100 per cent, it’s not me.”

The girl said the man who allegedly raped her was wearing a baseball cap, Armani tracksuit and spoke with an Asian accent. Mohammed said he has ‘never worn a baseball cap’ nor owned an Armani tracksuit, and speaks with a ‘normal English accent’ except when speaking Punjabi with his mother.

The trial continues.