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| Gateshead grooming gang accused 'did not have sex with girl' | Gateshead grooming gang accused 'did not have sex with girl' |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| The accused met some of their alleged victims in Gateshead's Saltwell Park, a court has heard | The accused met some of their alleged victims in Gateshead's Saltwell Park, a court has heard |
| A man accused of raping a drugged 14-year-old girl has told a grooming gang trial he never spoke to or had sex with her and had no knowledge of her being "pimped out". | A man accused of raping a drugged 14-year-old girl has told a grooming gang trial he never spoke to or had sex with her and had no knowledge of her being "pimped out". |
| Ionut Mihai said he and his friends just went to play football in Saltwell Park in Gateshead, Newcastle Crown Court heard. | Ionut Mihai said he and his friends just went to play football in Saltwell Park in Gateshead, Newcastle Crown Court heard. |
| The 28-year-old is one of six men who deny offences against six girls, aged between 13 and 16, in Gateshead between 2015 and 2019. | The 28-year-old is one of six men who deny offences against six girls, aged between 13 and 16, in Gateshead between 2015 and 2019. |
| One girl has made allegations against all six men with Mr Mihai the third defendant, after Codrin Dura and Leonard Paun, to take to the witness box and deny offending against her. | One girl has made allegations against all six men with Mr Mihai the third defendant, after Codrin Dura and Leonard Paun, to take to the witness box and deny offending against her. |
| Mr Mihai, a Romanian national who worked in car washes after moving to the UK in 2016, said he would play football with his friends, including some of his co-accused, in the park and there would sometimes be girls around. | Mr Mihai, a Romanian national who worked in car washes after moving to the UK in 2016, said he would play football with his friends, including some of his co-accused, in the park and there would sometimes be girls around. |
| He said he never spoke to the girl he is accused of raping and believed she was Mr Paun's "girlfriend", adding he also thought she was about 16 or 17 and did not find her attractive. | He said he never spoke to the girl he is accused of raping and believed she was Mr Paun's "girlfriend", adding he also thought she was about 16 or 17 and did not find her attractive. |
| 'Don't know about pimping' | 'Don't know about pimping' |
| Mr Mihai's barrister, Caroline Goodwin KC, said it was being suggested by prosecutors that the girl was made to have sex with him, asking him: "Did that ever take place?" | Mr Mihai's barrister, Caroline Goodwin KC, said it was being suggested by prosecutors that the girl was made to have sex with him, asking him: "Did that ever take place?" |
| Mr Mihai replied: "No it did not, never." | Mr Mihai replied: "No it did not, never." |
| He is accused of having sex with her on a bench and in a car and being present at a flat where she claimed she was raped by multiple men. | He is accused of having sex with her on a bench and in a car and being present at a flat where she claimed she was raped by multiple men. |
| Mr Mihai said he had not had sex with her and never went to a flat with his friends. | Mr Mihai said he had not had sex with her and never went to a flat with his friends. |
| In cross-examination, prosecutor Emma Dowling asked if Mr Mihai knew the girl was "addicted" to cocaine given to her by some of the co-accused, to which he replied he did not know she was using drugs. | In cross-examination, prosecutor Emma Dowling asked if Mr Mihai knew the girl was "addicted" to cocaine given to her by some of the co-accused, to which he replied he did not know she was using drugs. |
| Ms Dowling asked if Mr Paun was "pimping" the girl out and "giving her to his friends for sex", to which Mr Mihai replied: "I don't know about that." | Ms Dowling asked if Mr Paun was "pimping" the girl out and "giving her to his friends for sex", to which Mr Mihai replied: "I don't know about that." |
| 'Mistaken or lying' | 'Mistaken or lying' |
| The prosecutor put it to the defendant he did know as he was one of the men the girl was made to have sex with, but Mr Mihai said that was "incorrect". | The prosecutor put it to the defendant he did know as he was one of the men the girl was made to have sex with, but Mr Mihai said that was "incorrect". |
| Ms Dowling asked if there was an occasion when the girl had been so under the influence of drugs that Mr Mihai had to hold her up as she was sexually assaulted, to which Mr Mihai replied: "No, that's incorrect." | Ms Dowling asked if there was an occasion when the girl had been so under the influence of drugs that Mr Mihai had to hold her up as she was sexually assaulted, to which Mr Mihai replied: "No, that's incorrect." |
| When asked why the girl had named him in her allegations, Mr Mihai said it was a "mistake" or she was "lying". | When asked why the girl had named him in her allegations, Mr Mihai said it was a "mistake" or she was "lying". |
| 'Shocked by drugs request' | |
| Another co-accused, 44-year-old Bogdan Gugiuman, declined to take to the witness box but evidence was given on his behalf in the form of a doctor's report describing scarring on his genitalia. | |
| The fifth defendant, Klaudio Aleksiu, 28, told jurors he and the girl first met online, exchanging messages on Snapchat after the app suggested they be friends due to having mutual contacts. | |
| He said she told him she was nearly 17 and the conversation was neither romantic nor sexual and he was not attracted to her. | |
| When he was asked by his barrister Shada Mellor why he was talking to the girl, Mr Aleksiu said he was "just looking to make new friends". | |
| Mr Aleksiu, who moved to the UK from Albania in 2014, said he met her three times in person, the first when she asked if she could go to his home, but they never kissed or had sex. | |
| He also said he never gave her drugs and was "shocked" when she sent a message asking for cocaine, after which their contact stopped. | |
| The defendants are all from Gateshead and the allegations against them are: | The defendants are all from Gateshead and the allegations against them are: |
| Codrin Dura, 27, in relation to two girls, denies eight counts of rape, three counts of sexual activity with a child, attempted rape, sexual assault, blackmail, arranging the commission of a child sex offence and supplying a Class A drug | Codrin Dura, 27, in relation to two girls, denies eight counts of rape, three counts of sexual activity with a child, attempted rape, sexual assault, blackmail, arranging the commission of a child sex offence and supplying a Class A drug |
| Leonard Paun, 23, in relation to two girls, denies five counts of rape, sexual activity with a child, two counts of arranging the commission of a child sex offence, supplying Class A drugs, sexual assault and distributing indecent photographs of a child | Leonard Paun, 23, in relation to two girls, denies five counts of rape, sexual activity with a child, two counts of arranging the commission of a child sex offence, supplying Class A drugs, sexual assault and distributing indecent photographs of a child |
| Ionut Mihai, 28, denies three counts of rape in relation to one girl | Ionut Mihai, 28, denies three counts of rape in relation to one girl |
| Bogdan Gugiuman, 44, denies four counts of rape and one of supplying a Class A drug in relation to one girl | Bogdan Gugiuman, 44, denies four counts of rape and one of supplying a Class A drug in relation to one girl |
| Klaudio Aleksiu, 28, denies two counts of rape and supplying a Class A drug in relation to one girl | Klaudio Aleksiu, 28, denies two counts of rape and supplying a Class A drug in relation to one girl |
| Stefan Ciuraru, 22, in relation to five girls, denies four counts of sexual assault, inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and sexual activity with a child | Stefan Ciuraru, 22, in relation to five girls, denies four counts of sexual assault, inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and sexual activity with a child |
| The trial continues. | The trial continues. |
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