London:
A karate instructor - a non-resident Indian - has been accused of having "countless" sex sessions with a teenage schoolgirl who attended his martial arts classes, a British court has heard.
According to a report in The Daily Telegraph, 48-year-old Jaspal Riat had sexual relationship with the girl when she was aged 13 and 14, Gloucester Crown Court heard yesterday.
The girl has died since the alleged offences, which took place between February 2008 and May 2009.
The girl broke her silence about the alleged affair when she feared she might be pregnant and confided with a nurse at her school in Kidderminster, Worcs, the court was told.
Alan Kent, prosecutor, told the jury that Riat wooed the girl with compliments and sexual comments and bombarded her with text messages, finally telling her he had fallen in love with her.
The girl was confused but flattered by his attention and Riat kissed her after a training session, then plied her with drink at his flat before having sex with her, Kent said.
"The next thing she remembered was waking up next morning naked in bed with the man on top of her having sex with her," he told the court. "Thereafter, there were countless occasions where sexual activity took place between them."
Riat from Birmingham denies two charges of raping the girl, one charge of sexual assault and eight of sexual activity with a child. The court heard the girl confessed to the nurse, Elizabeth Swann, in December 2008.
However, when Swann said she would have to speak to her superiors, the girl changed her story, claiming she had an 18-year-old boyfriend.
She died in May 2009 after taking a massive overdose of tablets.
When questioned by police, Riat said the girl had sent him sexually-explicit texts and pictures of her and claimed she had made the allegations because he would not let her train for her black belt.