A JURY in the trial of a karate instructor accused of sexual crimes against two girls has been told the case hinges on their evidence.
Darren Lymer, of Anson Close, Marcham, near Abingdon, denies two counts of sexual activity with a child and one count of sexual assault.
The 50-year-old allegedly carried out the assault in August 2011 against one teenage girl and the other offences in January last year against a younger teenage girl.
Yesterday both barristers told the jury they had to decide if they believed the two complainants.
Iain Wicks, prosecuting, said there was no reason for the girls to lie about what happened. He said: “Were they just turning on the emotion to serve a cause, the true nature of which only they can know?
“Have they come here to do down this man?
“What possible reason do either of these women have to want to see him done down and dragged into a court of law?”
But Jonathan Coode, defending, said there was not enough evidence because “it is one word against the other”.
He said: “There is no independent evidence. Nothing at all to back up the accounts given by these two young girls. No eye witnesses.
“There is nothing to support these allegations – no science, no DNA match, yet still the crown say you can be sure of guilt.”
The trial continues.
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