Overview
- Prosecutors allege that on December 6, 2025 the two 14-year-old cousins met the defendant after social-media contact and travelled to his flat in Bolton where he gave them vodka and they became intoxicated.
- Emergency services were called after a neighbour raised the alarm and police found the girls extremely distressed; one was taken to hospital and both gave recorded interviews to detectives the following day.
- In opening the Crown case this week at Bolton Crown Court, the prosecution presented victim testimony behind a screen, video police interviews and medical evidence describing bruises and abrasions consistent with their accounts.
- Forensic testimony shown to jurors included DNA analysis the prosecutor said strongly matches the defendant, while defence counsel says the accused first claimed he believed the girls were older and now denies any sexual activity took place.
- The trial is ongoing before Judge Kendrick Horne and will turn on questions of consent, the effect of alcohol on the girls’ capacity to consent, the credibility of accounts and the weight of the forensic material.