Telford sex case accused says he told truth

A man accused of sexually exploiting teenage girls in Telford has denied that he was good at targeting vulnerable and desperate people.

Ahdel Ali, 24, also said he had not used contact with one of the victim's parents to deflect attention away from himself when she went missing from home.

At Stafford Crown Court yesterday the former factory worker claimed that he had told the girl's father 'the truth' in phone calls over three years ago.

Ali, known as Eddie, from Regent Street, Wellington, denies controlling the girl as a child prostitute and having under age sex with her during 2008 and 2009.

During cross-examination by prosecutor, Miss Deborah Gould, he denied having taken advantage of the girl and her parents.

Miss Gould said the teenager's father had turned to Ali for help and was told his daughter was hanging about with an Asian man.

She claimed this was Ali just deflecting attention away from himself towards the middle-aged man.

"All I did was to say I could help him. I told him the truth," said Ali.

The defendant conceded that he failed to tell the girl's father that he was seeing his daughter and involving her in various scams and taking drugs. Ali admitted he had tried to get money from a Ghanaian man by getting the girl to be involved in a fake marriage.

Ali also denied driving a schoolgirl to an isolated country location to talk about her being involved in sex acts with him so she could not get away.

Ali denies the rape of a 13-year-old girl and six other charges of having under age sex with her and inciting prostitution and sexual activity with a child involving two other girls.

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

The trial continues