Newport pensioner kidnapped and sexually assaulted me, woman tells court
A young woman has told a jury that she was abducted by a Newport pensioner who drove her to a quiet country hotel where she claims she was sexually assaulted.
The alleged victim said that Ronald Charles Price, now 78, had tried to kiss her and was touching her thigh as they sat in a conservatory at the rural Shropshire hotel five years ago.
At Shrewsbury Crown Court yesterday the young woman – now 24 and who cannot be identified for legal reasons – was in tears as she gave her evidence behind a screen.
She told the court she was 19 when she met Price who had been a regular at the bar where she worked. Eventually, she gave in to Price's numerous requests to take her for a coffee in the hope it would "get him off her case".
She told the court Price had enticed her into his car and she did not know where they were going.
"I was in the car for about 30 minutes. I knew it was somewhere near Bridgnorth," she said.
She said Price took her to a hotel and tried to kiss her and touched her thigh. Tearing a page from her diary she left a message for the hotel receptionist to call her mother and at this point she alleged that Price ushered her out of the premises and drove back towards Telford.
She claimed Price was again touching her thigh but she "just froze".
The court heard she managed to text a friend who then phoned to say she was needed at the bar where she worked.
Price, of Wenlock Drive, Newport, denies kidnapping the girl in September 2010 and sexually assaulting her. He also denies nine other charges of rape and sexual assault on two other girls under 13 on dates between 2004 and 2007.
The trial continues.
