A WOMAN has told a Royal Court jury that she saw the 56-year-old defendant indecently assaulting two young girls.
The witness was giving evidence on the third day of the trial of Ricky Derek Knight.
Mr Knight faces 14 charges of indecent assault or committing acts of gross indecency against two girls under 16, which he denies. The acts are said to have taken place over a five-year period.
The witness told the jury she had seen Mr Knight carry out some of the indecent acts he is charged with.
She said that he grabbed the older girl’s clothing, ‘pulled her pants down and belted her on the bottom with his hand.’
The witness said Mr Knight’s behaviour had made her feel ‘uncomfortable’, and included tickling ‘roughly and inappropriately’. The woman told the jury that the tickling became more intrusive and inappropriate.
The jury heard that Mr Knight allegedly called the older girl ‘fat’ and ‘disgusting’. He also commented on the younger girl’s breasts, according to the witness.
When the woman questioned Mr Knight on his behaviour, she said that he had laughed and claimed it was ‘a bit of fun’.
Advocate Adam Harrison, defending, asked the woman why she did not report any of this to the police if she deemed the actions inappropriate.
She replied: ‘I beat myself up daily that I did nothing at the time.
‘It is my guilt to live with.’
The court heard yesterday that Mr Knight denies hitting the girl on the bottom and making comments about the other’s breasts.
On the second day of the trial, one of the teenagers spoke about how she feared she would be raped by Mr Knight.
In video evidence, the girl said the defendant had put his hand inside her shirt and groped her breasts on numerous occasions.
She described one incident in which she recalled: ‘He pinned me down on the floor and pulled up my shirt. I thought I was going to get raped or something.’
On the first day of the trial the court heard video evidence from the older girl, who said she was made to perform sex acts on the accused and allow him to perform sex acts on her in return for cigarettes and mobile phone credits.
The trial, which is due to last for the rest of this week, continues.
