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"Two-way street" between accused and alleged victims, claims witness

Wednesday 26 October 2022

"Two-way street" between accused and alleged victims, claims witness

Wednesday 26 October 2022


A defence witness has told a Royal Court jury that he believes it was a "two-way street" between a 56-year-old and the two young girls he is accused of sexually abusing.

The man was giving evidence on the fourth day of the trial of Ricky Derek Knight, who denies 14 charges of indecent assault or committing acts of gross indecency against two under-16s over a period of five years.

Called to the stand by Advocate Adam Harrison, defending, the male witness described what he allegedly saw as "a bit rough, to be fair" and said it "wasn't always a barrel of laughs".

He added that it was a "two-way street" between the defendant and the girls.

He told the jury that he had never noticed anything which caused him concern or shocked him.

The man said he had not heard Mr Knight make comments on the girls' bodies, as alleged by a prosecution witness on Monday, but he did say that the defendant's language was "colourful".

Another witness previously told the jury that Mr Knight called the older girl "fat" and "disgusting" and commented on the younger one's breasts.

The court heard on Monday that Mr Knight denied making comments about the girl's breasts.

Summing up the prosecution's case, Crown Advocate Simon Thomas said that both girls had nothing to gain from making up their accounts of alleged abuse and that both had detailed a number of separate and independent incidents of abuse throughout the five-year period.

Advocate Harrison argued that the evidence was "nowhere near strong enough" to convict the defendant of the charges against him.

The jury is expected to retire today to consider its verdicts.

Catch up on the case...

55-year-old denies sexually assaulting young girls

Man accused of giving teen cigarettes in return for sex acts

"I thought I was going to get raped or something"

"I beat myself up daily that I did nothing at the time"

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