Three Rotherham men are on trial accused of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old in a graveyard and car park the 1990s.
They allegedly plied the young girl with alcohol before coercing her into performing sex acts on them when they were teenagers, Sheffield Crow Court heard Monday.
Sajid Ali, now 38, Riaz Makhmood, 39, and Zaheer Iqbal, 39, all from Rotherham, are charged with sexually assaulting the girl in the Masbrough area of the town.
Prosecutor Sophie Drake told jurors how the three defendants “plied” their young victim with drink before pressurising her into performing acts on them, sometimes one after the other, The Star reports.
Ms. Drake said that while the girl was not threatened with violence, the three defendants used other methods of “controlling” her.
“They said they would tell her mother what she was doing and she was scared of this. The Crown say this is one of the ways they put pressure on her and would control her,” Ms. Drake told the court.
She also insisted the alleged victim “looked her age, if not younger”.
The offences allegedly happened in 1994 and 1995 when the men were aged between 15 and 17. The victim eventually went to police in September 2014 and identified all three defendants in September 2016.
In a police interview, she said she waited until then to report the matter to the police because she had felt “ashamed” and “guilty” and said that alcohol played a part in the situation.
“I think a lot of it were [sic] down to having a drink,” she said in the police interview played to the court, adding: “I was passed around from man to man.”
The alleged crimes only stop when the girl’s mother stopped her spending time in the area, the court heard.
Mr. Makhmood denies three charges of indecent assault, Mr. Ali denies seven charges of indecent assault, and Mr. Iqbal denies five charges of indecent assault. The trial continues.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.