This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-25744169
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 4 | Version 5 |
|---|---|
| Coronation Street's William Roache 'urged girl to write back' | Coronation Street's William Roache 'urged girl to write back' |
| (about 20 hours later) | |
| William Roache wrote to a 14-year-old girl he indecently assaulted saying "write to me when you start school again, love Bill", a court was told. | William Roache wrote to a 14-year-old girl he indecently assaulted saying "write to me when you start school again, love Bill", a court was told. |
| Giving evidence at Preston Crown Court, the woman, now 63, said her contact with the Coronation Street actor felt like a "relationship". | Giving evidence at Preston Crown Court, the woman, now 63, said her contact with the Coronation Street actor felt like a "relationship". |
| Mr Roache, 81, from Wilmslow, Cheshire, denies two counts of raping a 15-year-old girl in East Lancashire in 1967. | Mr Roache, 81, from Wilmslow, Cheshire, denies two counts of raping a 15-year-old girl in East Lancashire in 1967. |
| He also denies five counts of indecent assault involving four girls. | He also denies five counts of indecent assault involving four girls. |
| Those alleged offences involve girls aged 16 or under in Manchester between 1965 and 1971, the court heard. | |
| 'Went exploring' | 'Went exploring' |
| The complainant told the court Mr Roache forced her to perform a sex act on him in the gents' toilets at Granada Studios in Manchester in the summer of 1965. | The complainant told the court Mr Roache forced her to perform a sex act on him in the gents' toilets at Granada Studios in Manchester in the summer of 1965. |
| She had visited the studios with a friend to take part in a children's talent show, the jury heard. | She had visited the studios with a friend to take part in a children's talent show, the jury heard. |
| The woman said following her performance she and her friend "went exploring" within the building. | The woman said following her performance she and her friend "went exploring" within the building. |
| She said she spotted a Coronation Street actor and later ended up in Mr Roache's dressing room. | She said she spotted a Coronation Street actor and later ended up in Mr Roache's dressing room. |
| At one point she and Mr Roache left the dressing room, she said, and he pulled her "roughly" by the arm in the direction of a men's toilet. | At one point she and Mr Roache left the dressing room, she said, and he pulled her "roughly" by the arm in the direction of a men's toilet. |
| She told the court Mr Roache took her hand and indecently assaulted her. | She told the court Mr Roache took her hand and indecently assaulted her. |
| The complainant said: "I was shocked and I didn't really understand what was going on, but the one thing I thoroughly understood was that I should not have been in the gents." | The complainant said: "I was shocked and I didn't really understand what was going on, but the one thing I thoroughly understood was that I should not have been in the gents." |
| 'Flattered by attention' | 'Flattered by attention' |
| The complainant said that a few weeks after the assault she received the letter, which read: "Thank you for your marvellous letter and the nice things you said in it. | The complainant said that a few weeks after the assault she received the letter, which read: "Thank you for your marvellous letter and the nice things you said in it. |
| "I am enclosing a photo which I hope you like. I am away for three weeks now but I would like a letter from you waiting for me when I get back. | "I am enclosing a photo which I hope you like. I am away for three weeks now but I would like a letter from you waiting for me when I get back. |
| "Write to me when you start school again and tell me more. Love Bill xx." | "Write to me when you start school again and tell me more. Love Bill xx." |
| Asked how the letter made her feel, the woman said: "I suppose I was flattered at the attention. I didn't understand some of it. I had not written a letter. I left a note as well as my address. The 'tell me more' didn't make sense. I don't know what it referred to." | Asked how the letter made her feel, the woman said: "I suppose I was flattered at the attention. I didn't understand some of it. I had not written a letter. I left a note as well as my address. The 'tell me more' didn't make sense. I don't know what it referred to." |
| The woman said after receiving the letter she returned to the studios later in the year. | The woman said after receiving the letter she returned to the studios later in the year. |
| She told the court Mr Roache told her to wait outside and would pick her up in his car. | She told the court Mr Roache told her to wait outside and would pick her up in his car. |
| Louise Blackwell QC, defending Mr Roache, suggested the pick-up arrangement was "odd". | Louise Blackwell QC, defending Mr Roache, suggested the pick-up arrangement was "odd". |
| "No", the complainant said, "because at that stage I thought we were having some sort of clandestine relationship, however tenuous." | "No", the complainant said, "because at that stage I thought we were having some sort of clandestine relationship, however tenuous." |
| The jury heard he later parked near a railway embankment in Stockport and Mr Roache asked about her age. | The jury heard he later parked near a railway embankment in Stockport and Mr Roache asked about her age. |
| She told the court a conversation took place about oral sex, during which he said: "I won't do it properly until you're 16." | She told the court a conversation took place about oral sex, during which he said: "I won't do it properly until you're 16." |
| The woman said at the time she would not have understood what he had said. | The woman said at the time she would not have understood what he had said. |
| A second complainant was 16 when she said she was approached by Mr Roache in the ladies' toilets at Granada. | A second complainant was 16 when she said she was approached by Mr Roache in the ladies' toilets at Granada. |
| "As I went in I suddenly was aware of somebody behind me and I turned round and he was right in my face, absolutely right in front of me. I could not move," she said. | "As I went in I suddenly was aware of somebody behind me and I turned round and he was right in my face, absolutely right in front of me. I could not move," she said. |
| She said he "more or less pinned me against the back of the wall" and put his hand underneath her jumper and squeezed her breast. | She said he "more or less pinned me against the back of the wall" and put his hand underneath her jumper and squeezed her breast. |
| The woman confided in her husband 20 years ago as they were watching Coronation Street. | The woman confided in her husband 20 years ago as they were watching Coronation Street. |
| The trial continues on Thursday. | The trial continues on Thursday. |