Sister describes "self harm marks" to Old Bailey (From The Oxford Times)

Sister describes "self harm marks" to Old Bailey

1:26pm Thursday 7th March 2013 in News By Ben Wilkinson, Crime Reporter. Call me on (01865) 425427

A YOUNG woman saw self-harm marks on her young teenage sister's arms while on a family holiday, the Old Bailey heard this morning.

The elder sister of the unnamed complainant known as Girl 5 told the Oxford sex exploitation trial her sibling changed from a "normal girl" to someone who would run away and return with bite marks on her face.

She said her sister became "upset" and "emotional" on a family trip and told her she had been hanging around with "Asian boys".

Girl 5, who finished her evidence yesterday, claims she had sex with Mohammed and Assad Hussain, and Zeeshan and Bilal Ahmed, between the ages of 12 and 14. The alleged crimes, including rape of a child under 13 and conspiracy to commit sexual activity with a child, are said to a have taken place between January 2009 and January last year.

Giving evidence from behind a curtain, the witness said while sharing a room on holiday her sister told her she had been with Mohammed "Tayab" Hussain.

And she told the jury "Tayab" would have known how old her "little sister" was.

The court heard Hussain had known the witness while her mother was pregnant with Girl 5.

The sister said: "She said she used to see him and he used to hang around with her. He used to walk her home and he was nice, he use to put his coat around her and things like that."

She told her sister she should not be hanging around with "Tayab" as he was much older, the court heard.

The witness also told the jury her sister had changed and become "disrespectful" to their mum.

She said: "She was definitely different.

"She never used to come home. She used to run away. She used to come back with bite marks on her face."

Eleanor Laws, defending Mohammed Hussain, asked the witness if she ever told her client how old her sister was.

But she said he knew, adding: "I didn't need to tell him."

A police officer also told the court how she took the alleged victim's underwear and for forensic tests on two occasions.

In June 2011, DC Alexandra Gill visited the girl's home after her mother told social services she had been out all night had returned with marks on her face.

DC Gill said the girl had a "fading bite mark" on her neck and a graze on her cheek.

But she said the teen appeared "disinterested" and did not want to answer questions.

Yet DC Gill said: "She said she hadn't been hurt or made to do anything she didn't want to do."

The teen's mother handed DC Gill her daughter's underwear and trousers in a Disney Store carrier bag, the court heard.

In December 2011, care workers gathered Girl 5's underwear and gave them to DC Gill after she returned from been missing.

The clothing was all taken for tests at LGC Forensics in Culham.

The nine defendants deny all 51 counts against them. The trial continues.

The accused all deny the charges. They are:

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