Ex-Latics starlet 'groomed' girl

Photo: Darren Robinson

Jack Tuohy

A FOOTBALL-MAD schoolgirl was groomed for sex by a former Oldham Athletic footballer she'd developed a crush on, a court has been told.

Midfielder Jack Tuohy now 21, pursued the star-struck 14-year-old after she asked him to pose for a "selfie" picture at Latics' ground where he had been handing out medals at the end of a schools' soccer tournament two years ago, it is claimed.

The youngster was stunned when he contacted her the same night on Facebook, but then became involved in a bizarre relationship with him, a trial jury at Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court heard.

Benjamin Jones, prosecuting, said Tuohy, of Arthur Street, Shaw, took advantage of the girl's vulnerability, and went on to "pressurise and bully" her into meeting him, with one object in mind.

He arranged to pick her up in his car, drove her to a quiet location, where it is alleged he got her to perform a sex act on him and sexually assaulted her.

The court was told that matters went no further because the girl's distraught parents had been tipped off by a friend of their daughter, that she had arranged to see a man, and both the friend and the girl's mother rang her on her mobile phone.

She panicked knowing she would be in trouble if the truth came out, got out of the car, and ran home.

The jury was told that Tuohy had been dishonest throughout, after being arrested by police.

He at first denied having had any kind of sexual contact with her ­- a lie said prosecutor Mr Jones.

Tuohy then conceded in a second interview that they had "kissed and cuddled", finally admitting that what was alleged, had taken place, but he said the girl who cannot be named for legal reasons, had taken the lead.

Tuohy claimed he had believed the youngster to be 16, but the jury was told she had told him at the outset that she was only 14.

The jury was told that he had suggested to police how their meeting at the soccer tournament had taken place a year earlier than it had, in a bid to back up his story. The prosecution say he was well aware of her age from the start.

The court heard that messages found on mobile phones seized by police made it clear that Tuohy had been trying to get the girl to meet him ­- and why.

The girl said she had, at his request, sent him a picture of her naked chest, and he had sent her a picture of himself naked below the waist.

She told police officers that she had reluctantly done as he asked, as he had made it clear it was her "only chance" to be with him.

The court was told that when she fled on the night they met in October, 2015, her last words to him had been: "Don't message me again," followed by "I love you."

The girl said she had been excited at the prospect of meeting him, and admitted to police that she missed him.

Tuohy pleads not guilty to five counts: meeting a child following sexual grooming, two counts of sexual activity with a child, and two counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

The court was told that he said he was shocked when told by police of the girl's age, and he suggested she had lied to him and led him on.

The trial continues.