Nottingham ex-teacher 'raped schoolgirl six times'

Roger Caffrey is on trial at Nottingham Crown Court charged with three counts of rape and 14 counts of indecent assault

A schoolgirl was raped six times by a former deputy head teacher, a court has heard.

Roger Caffrey, 70, is charged with three counts of rape and 14 indecent assaults in Nottingham dating between 1978 and 1995.

Sixteen of the 17 charges involve girls under the age of 16 - some believed to be as young as nine.

Mr Caffrey, who worked at Northgate Primary School in the city until 1984, denies all the charges.

The alleged rape victim - who cannot be named for legal reasons - told Nottingham Crown Court the Jimmy Savile scandal was a factor in her going to the police in December 2012, which started the police investigation into Mr Caffrey.

"I'd had quite a lot of nightmares... it had got to the point where I couldn't take anymore," the woman said.

"I needed to get it out of my head so I could move on and try and be me.

"At the time there were the Jimmy Savile cases wherever you looked - it was a constant reminder of everything."

Mr Caffrey, now of Sandesquoy, Tankerness, Orkney, is accused of touching pupils while they read out loud in class, or in a store cupboard in the classroom, and raping two girls at his home.

'Worzel Gummidge'

"It was one of those big, old-fashioned desks, and he'd be sat in such a way that it would look as if he'd be quite close to me - but he'd have his hand up my skirt," she said.

The woman, who gave evidence by videolink, believes she was nine years old when she was first raped by Mr Caffrey, the court heard.

"He used to say that if I ever told anybody, nobody would believe me," she said.

"I just remember not being able to move... and being just so scared."

The woman said Mr Caffrey, who she described as looking like Worzel Gummidge, also sexually touched her at the school on "50 to 60" occasions.

Michael Evans, defending Mr Caffrey, said his client had no recollection of the schoolgirl being in his home, and that nothing inappropriate occurred at the school.

The trial continues.