Sex case girl 'a liar,' court told

Barrister Mr Dermot Hughes, representing Umar Razaq, one of eight men charged with 23 sex offences, said that the girl, now 15, who was 13 at the time, had admitted making false allegations on another occasion.

“She’s a self-confessed liar,” Mr Hughes said in his closing speech to the jury at Sheffield Crown Court.

He said that he was referring to a conversation that the teenager had with another girl in which she admitted making false claims against someone else previously.

He said Umar Razaq, whose brother is also on trial, was “not an intellectual giant.”

The 24-year-old, of Oxford Street, Clifton, who is charged with trying to have sex with the 13-year-old and raping her 16-year-old cousin, did not have the wit to lie, Mr Hughes said.

The younger girl had lied about her age, passing herself off as much older and was not a naive youngster, he said.

On the rape charge alleged against the older teenager, Mr Hughes said it was implausible for Umar Razaq to behave in that way.

The rape was alleged to have taken place at the bedsit of a friend of Umar Razaq after he told her they were going to a party and plied her with drink.

But Mr Hughes questioned why he would have chosen a friend’s flat, where other people were around, to commit the offence.

Umar Razaq has denied ever asking her for sex and said he broke off the relationship after he found his older brother Razwan Razaq was seeing her.

The eight men, who all deny 23 charges, are: Adil Hussain (20), of Nelson Street, Rotherham town centre, Saeed Hussain (29), of Hatherley Road, Eastwood, Shalzaad Hussain (22), of Clough Road, Masborough, Mohsin Khan (22), of Haworth Crescent, Moorgate, Zafran Ramzan (21) of Broom Grove, Broom, Razwan Razaq (30), of Oxford Street, Clifton, Umar Razaq (24), of Oxford Street, Clifton and Shazad Akbar (23), of Shirecliffe Lane, Shirecliffe, Sheffield.

The trial continues. The jury are expected to retire to reach their verdict next week.