Man accused of being in child sexual exploitation ring says 15-year-old consented

A man accused of rape in the case of an alleged child sexual exploitation ring in north Wales has claimed a 15-year-old "instigated" having sex.

Ziaullah Badshah, 25, from Rhyl, Denbighshire, admitted to the act but told a jury he believed she was 17 at the time.

He is one of five people who deny claims around the sexual exploitation of girls in Rhyl.

Badshah also told Caernarfon Crown Court he had smoked cannabis with one of the alleged victims, known as Child B - but denies supplying the drug to her and another 14-year-old teenager, Child C.

Giving evidence in his defence, Badshah told the court he had come to the UK from Pakistan in 2016, after his home had been destroyed and a member of his family killed.

The court heard the defendant suffered flashbacks, anxiety and depression following his experiences in Pakistan and had tried to take his own life "so many times".

Badshah said he first met Child B and C at the home of co-defendant Mustafa Iqbal, after being on a shopping trip with another co-accused, Mohamed Usman Arshad.

He said they were told the two girls were 17.

The jury was told there was a game of "spin-the-bottle" started by Child B, which led to Badshah kissing both Child B and C.

But he insisted: "It was not sexual."

However, he accepted Child B would later call at his flat in the town, where he had sex with the girl.

"She was the one who mostly started it - I wasn't really that bothered," he told the jury.

He was asked what he made of the suggestion she had not been consenting.

"That's what she is saying now," he said.

"She was the one who mostly started it."

Badshah accepted he had sex with Child B on another occasion in his flat, while Child C was also in the room.

Again, he insisted it was consensual.

The court was told he discovered she was 15 when the girl travelled to London with 65-year-old co-defendant, Jaswinder Singh, who denies allegations of trafficking and supplying cannabis

"My life was just finished," he said.

"That was one of the worst things in my life.

"It is something I would never do, especially going with an underage girl."

Badshah denies two charges of rape involving Child B, conspiracy to traffic and forced labour, and supplying cannabis to another.

Mustafa Iqbal, 43, and Mohamed Usman Arshad, 36, also deny charges of rape with alleged victims aged between 14 and 16 years old.

The trial continues.