Ex-Dragon’s Den star, Doug Richard, has been charged with 5 child sex abuse offences. It is alleged he paid a 13 year old girl money to be his ‘sex slave’, after making contact with her through a ‘sugar daddy’ website.
Online Encounter
The Old Bailey heard this week that 57 year old Richard spanked the girl multiple times before having sex with her. Richard, a former business advisor to Prime Minister David Cameron, allegedly paid the 13 year old and her 15 year old friend a total of £480 to travel to London and meet him.
Richard is said to have advertised himself as a ‘sugar daddy’ on the online site ‘Seeking Arrangements’. The court heard that police had recovered numerous online exchanges between Richard and the 13 year old that had been deleted. In one conversation, Richard asked if the girl was free and available to come to London to see him after school. The jury heard that when the girl replied to say that she couldn’t and could they rearrange, Richard told her he would only wait to meet her another time if she sent ‘sexy’ photos of herself , ‘wearing less clothing’ and in ‘more revealing positions’. Richard said to the girl:
‘I will make a deal with you. I will wait for the following week if you send me those photos you promised.’
He also told her to send pictures of herself in a ‘submissive pose’ before going on to say:
‘On your hands and knees so I can see you helpless and exposed… [this is the] first task for your new daddy – get it wrong and I will have to spank you’
To which the 13 year old replied:
‘You are my new daddy – I will do anything to make you happy.’
Gino Connor, prosecuting, told the court:
‘The male was an experienced 56-year-old at the time,
‘It should have put him on notice at that point, having seen the photos of her, that she was young – 13 years old.’
London
Connor went on to say that the girls travelled to London on 2 January 2015 and purchased their train tickets with the £120 that Richard had transferred to a PayPal account for them. Richard then picked the girls up from Liverpool Street station, before taking them to a café where he asked how old they both were. The girls said they were 16 and 17.
Richard then took the girls to an aparthotel were he proceeded to ask them if they would be his ‘slaves’. The Old Bailey was told that the older girl kissed Richard on the lips for about half a minute, however she thought he was ‘horrible and smokey’ and rebuffed his offer to be his slave.
It is alleged that Richard then focused his attentions on the younger girl, who agreed to have sex with the entrepreneur. Mr Connor told the court:
‘The defendant told the girl to remove her items of clothing one by one. She was compliant and undressed completely until naked. He told her to remove his clothing which she did. He spanked her on about seven occasions.’
Jurors heard how Richard instructed the 13 year old to perform a sex act on him whilst her friend looked on. Richard and the girl then moved into an adjoining room where it is claimed they had intercourse. Video footage of a police interview with the fifteen year old was played to the court, in which she claimed she could hear her younger friend ‘whining’ form the other room but could not see what was happening.
According to the 15 year old, she herself entered the other room at one point, where she witnessed her friend perform another sex act on Richard, after which she fled the room in tears. The girl added:
‘She called for me. I went to see her. She was crying. She looked like a mess.’
Following the alleged child sex abuse offences, it is claimed Richard gave the girls money to go shopping and called them a taxi. When the girls arrived home later that day, the older girl’s mother noticed that there had been an unusual deposit in her daughter’s bank account and called the police.
Arrest
Three days later, Richard was arrested at a central London hotel where he allegedly asked a police officer:
‘Can I ask you a hypothetical question? What if I thought she was over 16 but she was in fact under 16?”
The officer advised him to seek advice from his lawyer, to which Richard responded, ‘Under 16, wow’. Richard gave an answer of ‘no comment’ when questioned by police.
The prosecution added:
‘I suspect there is going to be no dispute as far as the sexual activity is concerned.’
‘When you look at the photographs of this girl, and the defendant had seen the photographs, he had also seen photographs of her naked, you need to ask yourselves whether he is telling the truth when he says he thought she was 16 or over.’
In her police interview, the then fifteen year old told of how her younger friend had begun chatting to a man online and said that they wanted a ‘sugar daddy’, because “a sugar daddy, they can spoil you and take care of you and boys my age just want to have sex.” But on the day that the alleged offences took place she presumed they would just be sightseeing around London.
Child Sex Abuse Charges
US born Richard, who appeared as a ‘dragon’ on the BBC programme Dragon’s Den for the first two seasons, has been charged with three charges of sexual activity with a child and one of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. He has also been charged with paying for sexual services.
Richard denies all five charges of child sex abuse brought against him but admits to having consensual sexual relations with the thirteen year old as he believed she was sixteen or older.
The trial, which continues, is taking place at the Old Bailey before Judge Mark Lucroft QC and is expected to last 5 days.
Child sex abuse claims – expert advice
Hampson Hughes Solicitors specialises in directing child sex abuse claims in a considerate and compassionate manner. Our Abuse & Criminal Injuries Department is headed by Greg Neill – Greg is a member of the Association of Child Abuse Lawyers (ACAL).
For an open and friendly conversation about your or your child’s situation, and to find out how we can assist you relevant to your individual experience, call 0800 888 6 888 or email
You will be given the direct-dial of your case handler, meaning that you will always be able to reach the person you need.
Source: Mail Online
Recent Comments