AN alleged paedophile has denied knowing a girl who he is accused of sexually abusing during the Covid pandemic.

Benjamin Brookes is on trial at Oxford Crown Court charged with several counts of sexual activity with a child who was 14 years old at the time.

The 26-year-old faces four counts of sexual activity with a child under the age of 16, one count of sexual communication with a child and one count of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

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It is alleged that Brookes and the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were in a relationship during 2020 and had several sexual encounters.

However, Brookes, of Brunswick Place, Banbury, denies ever having met the girl, stating he had spoken to her a few times on social media but had not seen her in person.

Opening the case on Monday (January 15), prosecutor Russell Pyne told the jury that Brookes was 23 years old at the time of the alleged offences while the girl was aged 14.

“An age difference of about eight and a half years,” he said.

“The Crown say there was a sexual relationship between these two back in 2020. Benjamin Brookes says there wasn’t.

“These matters came to light in October 2020. [The girl’s] mum was unhappy with [the girl], she was a bit rude to her and difficult.

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“She decided to take her telephone away from her as a punishment and when she did, in a fashion that I suspect a number of parents have done over the years, she took a look through the content of the phone and she was shocked.

“On her daughter’s phone were sexual messages between her daughter and somebody else but she didn’t know who.”

Mr Pyne said the girl told her mother she had a boyfriend who was 17 years old. However, when the mother looked up the defendant, she found he was older.

“[This] alarmed her,” said Mr Pyne.

The matter was then reported to police who started a formal investigation against Brookes. However, when asked about the alleged incidents, Brookes claimed not to know the girl.

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Mr Pyne said: “This is not a case where the defence says there’s a relationship with consent, this is not a case where the defence says I know this person but we didn’t have intercourse.

“Benjamin Brookes says he never met [the girl] at all. He agrees that he had chats with her on social media but he says they have never been in the same place at all.”

The trial continues.