AN OLD Bailey jury has been told it cannot be sure enough to convict a man of having sex with a child.

Mohammed Hussain faces three charges of sexual activity with a child and is among nine men on trial accused of grooming and abusing underage girls in Oxford.

He admits having sex with the alleged victim known as Girl 5 in 2011 but says she told him she was 17.

But his barrister Eleanor Laws, in her closing speech, said Girl 5 acted and dressed older than she was and lied about her age.

The lawyer said the girl, now 16, had said on the witness stand that she never told Hussain her age.

She said: "She accepted she actually wanted people to think she was older than she was because of the things she was doing."

She told the jury: "There must be a doubt as to whether he knew she was 14 years of age."

The jury will sit again on Monday to hear closing speeches for the final two defendants - Zeeshan and Bilal Ahmed.

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.