Men gave girl cocaine and raped her, jurors hear

One of the girls said she first met the accused in Gateshead's Saltwell Park

This article contains details some people may find distressing.

A 15-year-old girl was given cocaine and alcohol before being raped by several men, a grooming trial has heard.

The girl told police she was sexually abused by multiple men while "off her face" on Class A drugs they gave her and which she became addicted to, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

She is one of six girls aged between 13 and 16 who claim they were targeted by a group of men in Gateshead between 2015 and 2019.

Six men, who are being assisted in court by Romanian and Albanian translators, deny offences including rape, blackmail and commissioning child sex offences.

Jurors have been shown one of the girl's police interviews in which she recalled a number of incidences of being raped while "high" on drugs given to her by the men.

The girl, who cannot be identified, said she was 14 when she first met some of the accused in Saltwell Park.

She told police she and her friends had gone to drink alcohol, listen to music and "just have a good time" before the "boys and older men", who "obviously had experience of everything" and "just knew what they were doing", arrived.

She recalled on one occasion, a short while after being taken in Codrin Dura's black BMW to the secluded car park of a pub, being given cocaine, the court heard.

It was the first time she had used the drug and it made her feel "high", sweaty and drowsy, jurors were told.

Six men are on trial at Newcastle Crown Court

She said Leonard Paun, 23, then arrived and groped her before pushing her to the ground and making her perform a sex act upon him.

When asked by the interviewing police officer if she had wanted that to happen, the girl replied: "No, not really.

"I would have said something if I wasn't on coke. I would have said no."

Later that night, Mr Dura, 26, drove her to another location where he raped her, the girl said.

She said the 10-minute-long ordeal left her in pain and wanting to cry, after which Mr Dura dropped her off at a bus stop with a bag of cocaine and £40 in cash.

'You're safe here'

The girl said he messaged her the following day to ask if she had had "fun", the court heard.

She said she continued to message him because she wanted more cocaine, adding: "I got too into [the drugs]. In order to get that I had to do stuff for it."

The girl said on another occasion, when she was 15, Mr Dura took her to a flat where she met several of the defendants, including 44-year-old Bogdan Gugiuman who allegedly told her: "Don't worry, you're safe here."

She said said was given more cocaine, wine and vodka before being raped in a bedroom by several men, jurors heard.

She said she was "off her face" and it was "blurry", but Mr Paun and Mr Gugiuman both violated her, the court heard.

The girl said she woke up naked on the bed and there was a pile of £20 notes which she believed was meant for her, the court heard, but she did not take it.

She said she met up with Mr Gugiuman several more times to get drugs, with her having to give him sex in exchange, the court heard.

When asked how dependant she was on cocaine by that point, the girl said she was using it "every day".

The girl also said Mr Dura asked her to have sex as a "favour" with three other men on a bench in Saltwell Park, the second being Ionut Mihai, 28, which she did in exchange for cocaine, the court was told.

Prosecutor Anne Richardson previously told jurors it was a case of "sexual exploitation" with the men abusing "immature and vulnerable" girls, while judge Tim Gittens said the allegations were "sometimes called child grooming".

The defendants are all from Gateshead and the allegations against them are:

• Codrin Dura, 26, in relation to two girls, denies eight counts of rape, three counts of sexual activity with a child, attempted rape, sexual assault, blackmail, arranging the commission of a child sex offence and supplying a class A drug

• Leonard Paun, 23, in relation to two girls, denies five counts of rape, sexual activity with a child, two counts of arranging the commission of a child sex offence, supplying Class A drugs, sexual assault and distributing indecent photographs of a child

• Ionut Mihai, 28, denies three counts of rape in relation to one girl

• Bogdan Gugiuman, 44, denies four counts of rape and one of supplying a Class A drug in relation to one girl

• Klaudio Aleksiu, 28, denies two counts of rape and supplying a Class A drug in relation to one girl

• Stefan Ciuraru, 22, in relation to five girls, denies four counts of sexual assault, inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and sexual activity with a child

The trial, which is estimated to last up to six weeks, continues.