A 44-year-old man is on trial accused of repeatedly raping and assaulting a teenage girl – who only reported the abuse when she feared she was pregnant by him.

Dean James Plowman is charged with 17 offences including rape, sexual penetration without consent, making a child watch a sex act, and encouraging the same child to engage in sexually assaulting the girl.

He is also accused of two grave and criminal assaults against the girl. Mr Plowman denies all the charges.

The girl, who cannot be named, gave evidence in a recorded police interview which was played in court today.

As she had difficulty in speaking about the alleged offences, she wrote down her answers to questions and they were then read aloud by another officer.

The girl said that Mr Plowman had first assaulted and raped her in 2020, and that it had happened “more than ten times”.

Opening the case for the prosecution, Crown Advocate Simon Thomas told the jury of eight men and four women that the alleged attacks included rape, sexually penetrating the girl with his fingers, and making her perform a sex act on him.

Mr Plowman was also said to have assaulted her in the presence of a younger boy and encouraged the boy to join in assaulting her.

Advocate Thomas said the allegations came to light in January 2023 when the girl told a member of staff at her school that she feared she was pregnant.

The advocate said: “She said she had sex with a man in his 40s. She said she didn’t want to have sex with him.”

The girl was found not to be pregnant. An examination showed marks which could have been caused due to forced sexual intercourse, but did not prove it.

The advocate also said Mr Plowman had inflicted grave and criminal assaults on the girl on two separate occasions.

“He twisted her arm until it popped out of her shoulder and put her hands round her neck and squeezed it,” said Advocate Thomas.

“He also threw a knife at her, pushed her so she fell backwards, and kicked her in the stomach.”

The trial is expected to last for the rest of the week.

Deputy Bailiff Robert MacRae is presiding.