Sex trafficking accused denies preying on 'out of control' young girls

Mohammed Karrar also denied trafficking vulnerable teens

A man accused of being a member of a child sex trafficking gang has denied targeting “out of control” young girls because he thought he could bend them to his will.

Mohammed Karrar insisted this morning that a host of witnesses, among them two girls who accuse him of sexually abusing them as children, were either lying outright or had mistaken him for another man.

Giving evidence at the Old Bailey for a second day, the 38-year-old denied grooming the two girls; named Girl C and Girl D for legal reasons. Noel Lucas QC, appearing for the prosecution, said, “[Girl C] said she liked you, enjoyed your attention because she said it made her feel wanted. You were grooming that girl to do what you wanted because you saw she was vulnerable.”

Mr Karrar replied: “I never asked that girl for sex.” Mr Lucas said: “You knew that these were girls who were totally out of control and behaving badly,” to which Mr Karrar replied: “No.”

And Mr Karrar denied being “sold” Girl D by a mutual friend, saying that she had only introduced the pair. Mr Lucas QC put the various allegations made by the two girls to Mr Karrar: that Girl C’s ordeal at his hands began around her 13th birthday, Girl D’s when she was 11-years-old; that, along with his brother, he had sexually abused them both.

He also put the allegations that Mr Karrar trafficked them both to be sexually abused by others and that he had plied both with drink and drugs. He also repeated the testimony of one of the girls, saying that the hard drugs she was taking were “better than feeling, better than being there; that’s what you reduced this girl to.”

And he said that Girl D claimed Mr Karrar made her have a backstreet abortion when she fell pregnant. Mr Karrar dismissed each of the allegations as “a lie”.

Mr Lucas QC said: “Think about the detail [Girl D] is giving. It is all made up?” Mr Karrar replied: “Not any of that is true.” Mr Lucas QC reiterated: “She has not made up a single complaint, it is a detailed explanation of your treatment of this girl over a length of time. She said she was jumping to your tune, you told her to do something and she did it.

“That’s not true,” replied Mr Karrar. Mr Lucas QC said: “You watched her [Girl D] describing you making her do the most horrible sex acts.” Mr Karrar dismissed the accusation as unbelievable.

He was also asked why he had refused to answer any questions in his police interviews. Mr Karrar agreed that he was “given every opportunity” to give his side of the story over three meetings with officers. But he replied that he was advised by his solicitor to answer every question with the words “no comment”.

He denied playing a “wait and see game” because he wanted to see what evidence the prosecution had against him before deciding how to concoct a defence.

The court also heard Mr Karrar deny trying to contact another young girl, who does not allege any sexual abuse, in an unsuccessful bid to get her to go meet him while she was living in a children’s home.

The alleged sex trafficking ring was arrested by Thames Valley police early last year. Kamar Jamil, 27, Assad Hussain, 32, and Bilal Ahmed, 26 are standing trial. They are joined by two sets of brothers: Akhtar, 32, and Anjum Dogar, 30; and Mohammed, 38, and Bassam Karrar, 32. Also charged are Mohammed Hussain, 24, and Zeeshan Ahmed, 27. All of the defendants deny the charges. The trial continues.