THE father of an underage girl who is accusing seven men of historic sexual offences has recalled the moment she first told him about the rape allegations.

Nazir Khan, Hassan Ali, Usman Sultan, Kamran Hussain, Ali Razaq and Sohail Hussain are all charged with rape.

A seventh man, Kasam Hussain, 30, of Lister Street, Keighley, faces one charge of intentionally inciting a girl aged under 16 to engage in sexual activity.

The seven defendants are on trial facing a total of 17 counts between them and all seven pleaded not guilty to all charges against them.

The charges against the defendants date between 2008 and 2009.

The girl's father said he had a face-to-face conversation with his daughter at an unconfirmed date a few months after April 2009 where she told him about a male had raped her.

The girl from Keighley, who cannot be named for legal reasons, revealed to her father the allegation that Nazir Khan, nicknamed 'Khanny', had raped her in April 2009, Bradford Crown Court heard.

Her father told the court: "She just spoke to me and said 'did you know I was raped?' She accused this chap of raping her. She said Khanny had raped her. She just said he forced himself upon her.

"I was shocked about it. I did not know what to do, or what to say to her. She told me she was scared. Nothing else was said after that.

"This conversation was not a long conversation.

"I asked her if she had told the police and she said she had.

"I did what any father would do and told her it was not her fault.

"I tried to protect her by not bringing up the incident. She was in a very gentle state.

"My daughter was a happy child.”

But he said she had then become "a lot more within herself” and “was not the happy child” he previously knew.

The girl's father made an original statement to police in September 2019 and made a second statement yesterday, where he clarified that he knew of Asian males who had raped his daughter. He changed this part of his statement to an Asian male.

Nazir Khan, 28, of no fixed abode, faces two rape allegations; Usman Sultan, 28, of Lawkholme Lane, Keighley, faces four rape allegations; Kamran Hussain, 28, of Hawk Street, Keighley, faces two counts of rape; Ali Razaq, 26, of Hawk Street, Keighley, faces one count of rape; Sohail Hussain, 30, of Skipton Road, Keighley, faces five counts of rape; Hasan Ali, 28, of Hollings Lane, Keighley, faces two counts of rape.

The trial, which began on Monday, is expected to last up to six weeks.

The trial continues.