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| Eddy Shah tells rape trial: I paid for sex with co-defendant in 1980s | Eddy Shah tells rape trial: I paid for sex with co-defendant in 1980s |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| The former newspaper boss Eddy Shah denied having sex with a schoolgirl, but admitted he paid one of his co-defendants for sex in the 1980s. | The former newspaper boss Eddy Shah denied having sex with a schoolgirl, but admitted he paid one of his co-defendants for sex in the 1980s. |
| Shah, 69, who is on trial at the Old Bailey in London alongside two other defendants, denies six counts of raping a girl under 16. | Shah, 69, who is on trial at the Old Bailey in London alongside two other defendants, denies six counts of raping a girl under 16. |
| Asked by his barrister Jonathan Barnard if he had sex with the girl at a hotel the first time he is alleged to have met her, Shah told the court: "Absolutely not. "It wasn't offered and it wasn't asked for, so the situation never arose as such." | Asked by his barrister Jonathan Barnard if he had sex with the girl at a hotel the first time he is alleged to have met her, Shah told the court: "Absolutely not. "It wasn't offered and it wasn't asked for, so the situation never arose as such." |
| But as he began giving evidence on Tuesday, Shah admitted he paid co-defendant Susan Davies, 53, for sex in the 1980s. | But as he began giving evidence on Tuesday, Shah admitted he paid co-defendant Susan Davies, 53, for sex in the 1980s. |
| Shah said he met Davies while he was setting up the now-defunct newspaper Today, which launched in 1986. | |
| He told jurors that he worked very hard and spent most of his time staying in hotels in London while his family remained at their home near Manchester. | |
| "I just wanted some company so I rang an escort agency and Susan Davies was the girl who turned up," he said. "I just wanted somebody to relax with, to talk to, and that was it." | "I just wanted some company so I rang an escort agency and Susan Davies was the girl who turned up," he said. "I just wanted somebody to relax with, to talk to, and that was it." |
| But asked by Barnard if they had a sexual relationship, he said: "Yes. Probably every time I met her." | But asked by Barnard if they had a sexual relationship, he said: "Yes. Probably every time I met her." |
| He said he paid her around £100-£200 each time but could not remember exactly how much. | He said he paid her around £100-£200 each time but could not remember exactly how much. |
| Shah, who is charged under his birth name of Selim Shah, is alleged to have taken part in threesomes with Davies and the schoolgirl in the early 1990s. | Shah, who is charged under his birth name of Selim Shah, is alleged to have taken part in threesomes with Davies and the schoolgirl in the early 1990s. |
| A third defendant, Anthony Pallant, 53, is also accused of attacking the underage girl, who went to the police almost 20 years later. The offences are alleged to have happened when the girl was between 12 and 15. | |
| Davies, of Swanley, Kent, denies 14 counts of aiding and abetting rape, indecent assault and child cruelty, while Pallant, of West Malling, Kent, denies six counts of rape and indecent assault. | Davies, of Swanley, Kent, denies 14 counts of aiding and abetting rape, indecent assault and child cruelty, while Pallant, of West Malling, Kent, denies six counts of rape and indecent assault. |
| Shah, of Chippenham, Wiltshire, also denied having sex with the girl on the second occasion he is alleged to have met her. He said the girl arrived with Davies when she visited him at another hotel. | |
| He said the three of them went up to his room and ordered room service. | He said the three of them went up to his room and ordered room service. |
| Asked by Barnard why they did not eat in the hotel's restaurant, Shah replied: "I didn't want to be seen with the two women. It just seemed wrong because I could have been seen with another woman and people would start talking and think we were having an affair." He said he and Davies had sex in the bedroom of the suite while the girl waited in another room adding that he probably paid Davies for sex on that occasion but could not remember. | Asked by Barnard why they did not eat in the hotel's restaurant, Shah replied: "I didn't want to be seen with the two women. It just seemed wrong because I could have been seen with another woman and people would start talking and think we were having an affair." He said he and Davies had sex in the bedroom of the suite while the girl waited in another room adding that he probably paid Davies for sex on that occasion but could not remember. |
| Asked about his relationship with Davies at that point, Shah said: "It just sort of picked up again. It was not a great love affair or anything like that. It was just a comfortable relationship between two people who had their own lives." | Asked about his relationship with Davies at that point, Shah said: "It just sort of picked up again. It was not a great love affair or anything like that. It was just a comfortable relationship between two people who had their own lives." |
| Shah, who is married, admitted he had other affairs with women, and had to tell his family after his daughter found emails on his computer. But he told the court: "I don't find young girls attractive." | Shah, who is married, admitted he had other affairs with women, and had to tell his family after his daughter found emails on his computer. But he told the court: "I don't find young girls attractive." |
| The trial was adjourned until 10.15am on Wednesday | |
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