Daisy Hill man in court accused of raping two girls 13 times (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)
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Daisy Hill man in court accused of raping two girls 13 times
7:00am Wednesday 13th February 2013 in News
Jeffrey Gilbert pictured outside court
A 56-year-old man is on trial at Bradford Crown Court accused of 13 offences of rape against two young girls.
Jeffrey Gilbert sexually abused one child when she was aged between seven and 14 and a second youngster when she was 11, the jury has been told.
Gilbert, of Bronte Close, Daisy Hill, Bradford, denies “regularly and repeatedly” raping the girls in a flat in Bradford in the 1990s.
He pleads not guilty to 13 offences of rape and two charges of attempted rape.
Prosecutor Adrian Strong told the jury the first girl pushed Gilbert away, after suffering years of abuse, when she was 14. He tried to kiss her and she and never went back to his home.
The jury heard that she used to tell Gilbert: “Please don’t do it, it hurts,” when he was raping her.
Mr Strong alleged Gilbert molested the second girl when they were play fighting.
Gilbert is said to have given one girl money and taken her on shopping trips during the period he was raping her.
One alleged victim, speaking from behind a screen in the courtroom, denied that she joined in with friends in calling Gilbert a paedophile when she saw him out in Bradford.
Cross-examined by Gerald Hendron, barrister for Gilbert, yesterday she said she was not present when he was attacked outside the Star public house in the city centre.
The woman, now in her late 20s, said she told her mother and close friends Gilbert had sexually abused her but she did not make it generally known.
She did not tell the police for some time because she was not ready to make an official complaint.
The woman denied continuing to see Gilbert and his partner after she was 14, saying she did not invite him to parties or ask him for money when she saw him in pubs.
Her mother told the court she occasionally asked Gilbert to babysit for her because she trusted him.
She said her daughter was in her mid 20s when she told her Gilbert had abused her.
The trial continues.
