​Man ‘arranged for son to rape girl, 14’

​Standing handcuffed in the dock of Newtownards Magistrates’ Court the 37-year-old defendant, who cannot be identified in order to protect the identity of his son, spoke through an interpreter to confirm his identity and that he understood the three charges against him.

The defendant faces charges of human trafficking with a view that the victim would be exploited, false imprisonment of the 14-year-old and arranging or facilitating a sex offence in that he “intentionally directed” his son “to conduct a sexual activity” with the child.

The defendant’s 16-year-old son appeared in court on Saturday and he too was remanded into custody, having been refused bail.

In court yesterday, a PSNI detective constable gave evidence that he believed he could connect the defendant to each of the charges, adding that police were objecting to bail due to the risk of the defendant fleeing the country.

There was also an objection to the 37-year-old going back to his home address due to concerns for his safety.

The officer told the court the alleged offences came to light after police received an emergency phone call from Bulgaria on July 10, with the girl’s family reporting that she was “being kept against her will”.

He said the complainant had alleged that she was “stuck there,” that she had also been raped by the 16-year-old and further that “she was pregnant”.

The officer told the court that when the complainant spoke to social services at a Belfast hospital, she alleged the defendant “told his son to rape her and that she was trapped and that she couldn't get out”.

She further alleged that the father “employs different girls that he brings here to have sex and he did ask her to have sex”.

“He did ask her to work as a prostitute and have sex but she refused,” said the officer.

He told Deputy District Judge Sean O’Hare the 14-year-old had already recorded an Achieving Best Evidence video interview with police, explaining that as her parents knew the defendant and his family, “she had come for a holiday”.

When she first arrived a few months ago, “they treated her well” and she was happy to cook and clean and help around the house, but on one occasion when she was too tired to cook, the 14-year-old was allegedly assaulted “by the defendant’s son and his wife”.

It was a few days later, on her 14th birthday, when the 16-year-old allegedly raped her, said the officer.

The court heard on Saturday that according to the complainant, he entered the room, locked the door, placed his hand over her month and raped her, laughing throughout her ordeal.

The officer said since that alleged incident, the teenager was locked in a room and only allowed to leave the house for a few minutes at a time, adding that her phone was taken from her so she had no way of contacting anyone.

When the father and son were arrested, the court heard, police seized eight mobile phones, £1,000 in cash and travel documents from the property.

There was a 17-year-old girl there at the same time but she maintained she was not being held against her will or that she had been forced into having sex with anyone.

During police interviews, the 37-year-old claimed that his son and the alleged victim “were actually married,” further claiming that having known each other since they were a lot younger, “they liked each other”.

He told police it was a “tradition” in the Bulgarian/Roma community that when two children liked each other, “they're allowed to be together”.

The defendant denied the girl was locked in the house, denied that she was brought to NI to work as a prostitute and denied telling his son to rape her.

“If released the defendant could travel back to Bulgaria and not return,” said the officer, adding that having spoken to immigration authorities, the 37-year-old has “overstayed his current visa”.

He said while the defendant has a clear record in NI, “obviously with the nature of the allegations that the defendant has been human trafficking, we would be concerned that even without a passport, there may be ways and means that he could get out of the country or move country and therefore be a flight risk”.

Applying for bail, defence counsel said the defendant “vehemently and consistently denied the offences during police interviews” so he is entitled to the presumption of innocence.

Highlighting that he has been living and working in NI for a number of years, she told Judge O’Hare his wife had come to court with £2,200 to lodge as a cash surety, arguing that he could be granted bail with a package of conditions.

“How is this man supposed to leave the country when police have seized his passport, they've seized all his national identity cards,” the barrister asked.

Judge O’Hare replied however that to his mind, “I do not believe there are conditions that I can impose that would alleviate that risk”.

Refusing bail and remanding the defendant into custody, he adjourned the case to August 14.