Man (39) denies 13 child sex offences

A MAN has gone on trial accused of 13 counts of sexually abusing two young Rotherham girls.

Richard Malone (39), now of Laburnum Avenue, allegedly assaulted the children, who were relatives of a former partner, during the 1990s.

He denies 13 counts including rape, attempted rape and indecent assault.

A jury at Sheffield Crown Court heard this week that he would regularly take the girls, now in their 30s, shopping or babysit them.

Mr Jon Gregg, prosecuting, said Malone raped, indecently assaulted or tried to rape the young girls while he was alone with them — and once under a blanket while other people were in the room.

One of the alleged victims, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told police that Malone called her a pretty little girl and his special girl while touching her, starting when she was aged 11 or 12 and he was a teenager.

Once, he allegedly raped the girl on her mother’s bed.

The witness said that after Malone had had sex with another girl, he had told her that “I was still his special girl”.

She added that he would take her shopping but then force her to perform sex acts in some woods.

The younger complainant claimed that Malone also tried to rape her twice and had performed oral sex on her while masturbating instead.

Malone claims his accusers have made up allegations against him to get part of over £130,000 he was paid in compensation for a workplace accident.

But one alleged victim said that she had no knowledge of the compensation cash.

The woman admitted under cross-examination today that she had also been Facebook friends with him for a while saying that many of her relatives were connected with him on the social network.

Ms Denton suggested that she had actively followed Malone’s account, liking his photos and status updates.

The woman replied: “No, no”.

Malone told the police he was “blown away” by the allegations when they surfaced last year.

He attended a police station voluntarily last January after being accused

In an interview read at Sheffield Crown Court yesterday, Malone described the home in Maltby where some of the attacks are alleged to have happened as a “half-way house”, with people coming and going all the time.

Asked if he had molested either of the girls there, he said: “It’s not true. No-one has seen me doing it and it has only come to light now.

“Why did no-one see this? It's just not true at all. I don't know what else to say.”

The women, now in their 30s but who cannot be named for legal reasons, say Malone also abused them in a car.

Asked if he had a car at that time, Malone said he had only had a motorbike.

While the women say Malone was 18 when he split up with his ex-girlfriend, he says he was only 16 and thus too young to drive a car.

Malone admitted to using cannabis and heroin at the time, but when asked said there was no chance he could have molested the girls in a drug-induced stupor.

He told officers: “I don’t know where this has come from. These people were my friends for as long as I can remember. We're still friends on Facebook.”

Malone added: “I can only think they're saying this because they think I'm rich.

“I had a bad accident in 2002 which paid out £130,000 in 2007 and I have some property in Maltby.

“I worked on the railway earning £1,000 a week. That's the only reason I can think of.”

Cross-examining the alleged victims and their relatives, Ms Amanda Denton highlighted several inconsistencies in their accounts.

The trial continues.

 

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