Telford accused says teens were just his friends

A married man from Wellington accused of sexual exploitation who had the contact details of at least eight teenage girls has claimed that they were all 'just friends'.

Ahdel Ali, 24, told a jury that he only spent time 'chilling, cruising in his car and smoking cannabis' with the girls. At Stafford Crown Court yesterday Ali – who is known as Eddie – denied that there had been any sexual activity with any of the girls.

During cross-examination by prosecutor Miss Deborah Gould he told the jury he was just 'joking around' in text messages to some of the girls in which he used expletives and called them 'slags, whores, tramps and sly bitches'.

Ali, of Regent Street, Wellington, said he had married in Pakistan in 2008, but was unable to give the date of his wedding day.

He told the jury that he had 'fallen in love' with his wife Sonia Begum while on holiday.

Miss Gould asked him what his wife would say if she had known he was hanging out with girls aged 14 to 16 only a year after their marriage.

"Did your wife know that you were chilling and cruising with them?" said Miss Gould.

"No. I did not want to mess my marriage up. She would have been annoyed," said Ali.

Ali insisted the teenagers were 'only friends' and there was never any sexual activity with them.

He denies the rape of a 13-year-old girl and six other charges of having sex with her and inciting prostitution and sexual activity with a child involving two other girls. He also denies controlling a fourth alleged victim as a child prostitute and having under- age sex with her during 2008 and 2009.

His brother Mubarek Ali, 29, also of Regent Street, denies allegations of controlling child prostitution and trafficking in the UK for sexual exploitation.

The trial continues.