A DAD-OF-THREE "on trial for his life" was wrongly accused of child sex crimes by girls whose lives were in "complete turmoil", the Old Bailey heard this morning.

Married Kamar Jamil, 27, is one of nine men accused of running a child sex exploitation ring in Oxford.

But his barrister Sally O'Neill, making her closing speech, said the jury should return not guilty verdicts on all counts against her client.
She asked them: "How, on this evidence, can you be sure?"

Jamil denies raping and trafficking for sex the complainant known as Girl 1 when she was aged between 13 and 15 from 2004 to 2007. He also denies raping and trafficking Girl 2 when she was 14 in 2006.

He claims not to even have known the girls and that he is a victim of mistaken identity.

His barrister said he had never had sexual contact with the girls, but had been "lumped in" with the other defendants because he associated with them.

But Miss O'Neill said it was difficult to defend yourself against historical sexual allegations.

She said: "A defendant can give evidence but really all that they can say is 'I didn't do it'."

She also said despite all the girl's social care and police records and other sex complaints, the first mention of Jamil was in February last year when Girl 1 saw him working as a security guard in Tesco in St Aldate's.

The defence lawyer also questioned why Girl 1 kept repeating the phrase 'I know what happened to me' on the witness stand.
She said: "Did that sound to you like someone perhaps trying to convince herself?"

She added: "I wonder whether that girl does remember what was going on during that two or three chaotic years of her life six or seven years ago.
 

"Hindsight is very revealing it it can always be very distorting."

Miss O'Neill said her client was "on trial for his life", adding: "Suppose, just suppose, Kamar Jamil is not guilty of these very serious allegations against him.

"Suppose, just suppose, that for reasons that may be difficult to fathom but nevertheless are there, that they have just lumped Kamar Jamil in with a large number of men they were involved with six or seven years ago when their lives were in complete turmoil."

She told the jury: "At least have in the back of your mind the very real possibility that Kamar Jamil is innocent.

"A false memory can become a firm memory. A firm memory can become a convincing memory. A convincing memory can become persuasive evidence, even when it is based on a false premise."

This afternoon the jury will hear from Akhtar Dogar's barrister Andrew Jefferies.

The defendants deny all charges. The trial continues.