A VULNERABLE schoolgirl was repeatedly raped while being sexually exploited by a group of men and boys in Keighley, a jury heard today.

The unhappy child, who was "desperate to belong," was introduced to her abusers by an older boy called Arif Choudhury who forced her to have sex when she wanted to stop delivering parcels of drugs, it is alleged.

Choudhury raped her in the grounds of the New Jerusalem Church, Devonshire Street, Keighley, in May 2011, when she was 13, prosecutor Michelle Colborne QC told Bradford Crown Court.

Miss Colborne said Choudhury, who is not on trial, was violent, degrading the girl and exploiting her sexually.

"He introduced her to a number of these men. Some were equally nasty in their treatment of her. One or two seemed to be ashamed after the event, but used her nevertheless," Miss Colborne said.

Thirteen men and a youth of 17 deny a total of 27 offences of raping and sexually abusing the girl, who was reported missing 71 times from her home in Keighley before being taken into care.

All but one defendant is accused of raping the child, who was abused in a disused underground car park at the former Keighley Police Station, behind the town's library, and in the grounds of Cliffe Castle and Burgess Park, Miss Colborne told the jury.

She said: "This trial centres around allegations of child abuse, in particular the exploitation of two teenage girls, who were forced to behave sexually with boys and men in Keighley."

The court heard that the second alleged victim was involved in a single rape allegation, dating from 2009 when she was 15.

Miss Colborne said the first girl was reserved and had low self esteem after her parents divorced. She was unkempt and mocked by other pupils.

"She was habitually alone and desperate to make friends," the jury heard.

Miss Colborne said the girl was vulnerable and unhappy when she met Choudhury, a drug dealer two years her senior.

She began playing truant and staying out until the early hours. The police asked her if she was spending time with Asian men but she denied it.

Miss Colborne said the girl was taken into the underground car park and raped by four men.

The abuse is said to have begun when Choudhury grabbed her hair, slapped her and threw her on to an old sofa.

It is alleged the girl was also raped behind Keighley Leisure Centre and in Stockbridge Tunnel.

She was raped in turn by five men in Dalton Lane after Choudhury told her first abuser: "She's all yours," the jury was told.

Yasser Kabir, 25, of Belgrave Road, Keighley, denies four allegations of rape.

Tauqeer Hussain, 23, of Belgrave Road, Keighley, and Nazir Khan, 23, of Buxton Street, Keighley, plead not guilty to three allegations of rape.

Israr Ali, 19, of Devonshire Street West, Keighley; Mohammed Sardar, 19, of Bradford Street, Lawkholme, Keighley; Saqib Younis, 29, of Bradford Street, Lawkholme, Keighley; Bilal Ziarab, 21, of Sedgwick Close, Manningham, Bradford; Sufyan Ziarab, 22, of Kendal Mellor Court, Keighley; Zain Ali, 20, of Buxton Street, Keighley, and Faisal Khan, 27, of Buxton Street, Keighley, deny two allegations of rape.

Rohail Iqbal, 22, of Skipton Road, Beechcliffe, Keighley; Rohail Hussain, 18, of Hawk Street, Lawkholme, Keighley, and a 17-year-old youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, plead not guilty to one allegation of rape.

Mohammed Akram, 62, of Holker Street, Keighley, denies one allegation of sexual activity with the girl, when she was 14 and he was 59.

The teenager claims she had consensual sex with Akram, who worked for Crown Taxis, in his cab.

The jury heard that his DNA was found in her knickers.

Miss Colborne said the girl was "an easy target," out late at night and usually drunk.

The trial continues.