Teen accused of sex offences against three school girls

Ben Frank Spruce, 19, denies raping one girl, sexually assaulting another in the Saumarez Park play area, and sexually touching another twice in a lane near Beau Sejour.

The court was told he had already admitted offences involving three other girls. They included three counts of sexually touching one girl at Beau Sejour and two of misusing the telecommunications network by sending images of his penis to two girls in Jersey aged just 11 and 12.

Judge Catherine Fooks told jurats that they should make no assumption of guilt on the defendant’s part to the matters for trial because he had admitted other offences. Prosecuting Advocate Phoebe Cobb said there were similarities between what the defendant had already admitted, which included messages sent via Snapchat, some with explicit images of himself, and requests to meet up, and members of the court would have to decide whether it was reasonably possible that the three complainants were now lying or mistaken.

Spruce is alleged to have raped the first complainant in a field near her home on Boxing Day 2023.

He denies knowing her, exchanging messages with her, and being in the field where the offences are said to have occurred.

DNA evidence from a condom which police recovered from the field three days later gave an extremely strong link to Spruce, and telecommunications analysis put his phone in that field at the said time. Another witness would tell the court how he had picked the defendant up from the said area shortly after offence was said to be committed.

The complainant was aged 13 at the time of the incident.

Her evidence-in-chief was heard by way of a video-recorded interview of what she said to police.

She told police how she had told the defendant her age when they first exchanged messages.

He asked her sexually-related questions which said she did not want to answer.

Spruce put pressure on her to meet him in person, at one stage offering her between £150 and £300 to do it, though she had been reluctant to go and initially made excuses. She eventually agreed to meet him in a field near her home, where she said he raped her.

She had felt scared, disgusted and confused by what had happened, she said, and she had not wanted to have sex with him. She now would freeze if any boy touched her.

The court heard how the girl had complained to police in February last year after telling her mother what had happened. Police had seized the defendant’s phone before the girl complained, but after the alleged incident, in respect of one of the other investigations.

Messages recovered from it contained the first name of the rape complainant.

Two defence witnesses are expected to give evidence to the court and it is not known if the defendant will take to the stand.

The trial continues and is expected to last for three weeks.