Man on trial for raping schoolgirl in Rotherham

Russell Callear (40), of no fixed abode, went on trial at Sheffield Crown Court yesterday (Monday) accused of sexually abusing the schoolgirl when he was a teenager.

He denies five counts of indecent assault on a female, four counts of gross indecency with a child under 14, one count of rape of a female child under 13 and five counts of rape of a female.

The offences are alleged to have taken place in Rotherham in the 1990s.

Mr Paul O’Shea, prosecuting, said Callear committed a series of “serious sexual offences" against the girl which had started out by touching and it “escalated from there”.

Mr O’Shea said the girl - who can't be identified for legal reasons - didn’t speak about the abuse she had suffered for many years.

The trial continues.