A MAN accused of having sex with a child has told the Old Bailey he thought she was older because she drank alcohol and smoked.

Mohammed Hussain, 24, told the jury the thought of someone his age having sex with an underage girl was "revolting".

He is one of nine men accused of involvement in a child sex exploitation ring in Oxford.

Hussain faces three charges of sexual activity with a child after admitting to having sex with the complainant known as Girl 5 when she was 14 in 2011. But he claims he did not know her age.

He said when he met her he was 22 and she told him she was 17. He said: "She was attractive, well developed."

He said she wore designer clothes and did "adult things" like smoking and drinking. He also said she had older friends.

He said: "She was bubbly. She was a fun person. She was really confident.

"We used to have fun."

Hussain, who worked in a petrol station, said they would make jokes, listen to music, and text each other a lot, adding: "It was like we were dating but we did not quite get there.

"We were friends and we had sex on occasions as well."

But he later said: "She must have had a lot of friends like me."

He said they first had sex at the Nanford Guest House because it was "nearby" and "cheap". He also admitted having sex with her in the bathroom of a Regent Street house during a party.

He denied ever having sex with her in front of anyone else.

But Hussain told the jury he found out Girl 5 was 14 when his solicitor told him.

He said: "I couldn't believe it." And he said he would never have had sex with her if he had known, adding: "It's not like me. I find that revolting."

Yet prosecutor Neil Moore said to Hussain: "You treated her cruelly I suggest for one purpose only I suggest - for your own sexual satisfaction."

Hussain replied: "Not at all sir. Not at all."

Bassam Karrar, 33, decided not to take the witness stand to defend himself against charges of rape and child prostitution.

The alleged victim known as Girl 4 claims Karrar, of Hundred Acres Close, raped her at the same as his brother Mohammed Karrar.

Girl 3 also claims he raped her and beat her up in the Nanford Guest House in November 2006.

When it came for his defence case to be heard, his barrister Mark Milliken-Smith said: "I call no evidence on behalf of Bassam Karrar."

The defendants deny all charges. The trial continues.

 

Nine defendants deny 66 charges. They are:
-Kamar Jamil, 27, of Aldrich Road, Summertown, Oxford, denies five rapes, two charges of conspiracy to rape, one of arranging or facilitating child prostitution, and one of trafficking for sexual exploitation.
-Akhtar Dogar, 32, of Tawney Street, East Oxford, denies five rapes, three charges of conspiracy to rape, two of arranging or facilitating child prostitution, and trafficking for sexual exploitation.
-Anjum Dogar, 31, of Tawney Street, East Oxford, denies three rapes, three charges of conspiracy to rape, two of arranging or facilitating child prostitution, and trafficking for sexual exploitation.
-Assad Hussain, 32, of Ashhurst Way, Rose Hill, Oxford, denies rape and two charges of sexual activity with a child.
-Mohammed Karrar, 38, of Kames Close, Cowley, denies seven rapes, four charges of conspiracy to rape, two of trafficking for sexual exploitation, two of arranging or facilitating child prostitution, serious sexual assault, conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child, using an instrument to procure a miscarriage, and supplying a Class A drug to another.
-Bassam Karrar, 33, of Hundred Acres Close, Cowley, denies three rapes, three charges of conspiracy to rape, two charges of arranging or facilitating child prostitution, and trafficking for sexual exploitation.
-Mohammed Hussain, 24, of Horspath Road, Cowley, Oxford, denies three charges of sexual activity with a child.
-Zeeshan Ahmed, 27, of Palmer Road, Wood Farm, Oxford, denies two charges of sexual activity with a child.
-Bilal Ahmed, 26, of Suffolk Road, Maidenhead, denies sexual activity with a child.