Rape accused thought girls were over 16, court told

A man accused of raping underage girls he and a friend met on Snapchat has said that sex with them was consensual and that he believed they were aged over 16.

Bawan Harwe, 28, gave evidence in his defence at Sheffield Crown Court earlier, where he is on trial alongside Sharam Muhamadi, 21.

The girls were enticed to meet the men in Doncaster and Barnsley by promises of drugs, vapes and taxi journeys, the prosecution claimed.

Iraqi national Harwe, speaking through an interpreter, denied eight counts of rape and 10 other charges, and said he "would not have gone there" if he had known the victims were as young as 12.

Harwe accepted he had met up with the girls, who prosecutors said were "effectively bribed" with money and drugs to "submit to various sexual indignities".

Muhamadi, from Iran, denies two counts of rape and four counts of facilitating travel for exploitation.

Asked by his counsel, David Brooke KC, about an allegation he raped one of the girls, Harwe denied the claim but admitted having intercourse at a flat in Hexthorpe in Doncaster.

Harwe told the court: "We were both drinking and kissing and ended up having sex with each other on the sofa."

When asked if his actions were consensual, Harwe replied: "We were both in agreement we were happy for that to happen."

Harwe was working in a convenience store in Hexthorpe and lived nearby in an attic room with two others. He said he met Muhamadi in 2022 when the latter worked at another shop in the area and they became friends and then lived in the same house.

The court was given details of various social media messages exchanged between Harwe and others regarding meetings with girls.

Harwe said he had given information about his Snapchat account, including passwords, to his co-accused "because it wasn't important and I trusted him".

Harwe was called "Karo" by the victims, which he confirmed was his name on the platform.

Brooke read out a message conversation from one of the girls, who it is alleged had sex with Harwe, to another girl which read: "I got £100 and I'm like getting another £150 just by hanging with them, my taxis and everything are paid!"

The allegations concern seven girls, who the prosecution said "were intimidated in various ways" if they did not do what the defendants wanted.

Harwe had previously pleaded guilty to one count of rape of a girl under 13.

Outlining the case against the two men earlier in the trial, prosecutor Claire Holmes said the alleged offences had taken place between June and August 2024.

She said the girls – one aged 12, five aged 14 and one aged 15 – met with Harwe after he communicated with some of them over Snapchat, before he "made available" some of them to Muhamadi, who the girls knew as Jack.

The prosecution allege the girls were given money, drugs or alcohol and then abused by the pair.

The trial continues.

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