Leazes Park sex attack accused thought 14-year-old girl was 18, a court heard
A man accused of molesting a 14-year-old girl in a Newcastle park told police she acted sexually towards him before they kissed and that he thought she was 18, a jury has heard.
Omar Badreddin, 18, is one of three defendants accused of sexually assaulting the girl behind a pavilion in Leazes Park on a warm evening in May.
Her friend, also 14, has accused 20-year-old married Syrian Mohammed Alfrouh, of molesting her before he joined in the pavilion attack on the other teenager, Newcastle Crown Court has heard.
After he was arrested, Badreddin told police he kissed the girl behind the pavilion and that she had put his hand on her private parts.
Everything was done with consent,'' he told detectives via an Arabic-speaking interpreter.
Badreddin told police he thought the age of consent in the UK was 18, which is how old he believed her to be.
An officer asked Badreddin to explain how he thought she was acting sexually towards him before they kissed.
He replied: Moving her body, moving her trousers, moving her jumper.''
He also said: I have not committed a sexual assault or have not raped her.
I asked her about her age, she didn't answer my question.''
Co-accused Mohammed Allakkoud, 18, was said to have grabbed the girl's mouth and nose while Badreddin and Alfrouh sexually assaulted her.
He denied it, telling police after he was arrested that CCTV from the park would show he was not near the girl at the time, and that they would not find his DNA or fingerprints on her.
Alfrouh, of no fixed address, denies three counts of sexual assault.
Badreddin, of Ryal Walk, Kenton Bar, and Allakkoud, of Tamworth Road, Newcastle, deny a single charge of sexual assault.
The trial continues.