Girl, 10, told ‘pretend we are lovers’

A 49-YEAR-OLD man accused of carrying out a series of rapes in south-east England asked a 10-year-old girl to “pretend they were lovers” during a five-hour ordeal in his car, a court heard yesterday.

Antoni Imiela forced the girl into his car at knifepoint in Birmingham, Maidstone Crown Court was told.

The alleged attack came just two days after Imiela had given a DNA sample to officers investigating other attacks, who had called at his home in Appledore, near Ashford, Kent.

Railway worker Imiela denies nine counts of rape against three girls under 16 and five women between November 2001 and October 2002. One woman was allegedly raped twice.

He also denies the kidnap, indecent assault and attempted rape of the 10-year-old in Birmingham on November 21, 2002.

Mark Dennis, prosecuting, said the attack had occurred in “familiar territory” close to a residential area but with open spaces nearby. “Exactly the same hunting ground,” he said.

He said the girl was bundled into a car at knifepoint and driven around for hours and repeatedly sexually abused.

Mr Dennis said: “He drove by motorway, main road and country road, stopping many times and moving on when there were too many people or vehicles. He needed a quiet spot.”

He said that during the attack, the girl had described how the man had “almost a dual personality”, sometimes being nice and asking her to call him ‘Tony’ and other times using bad language and violent threats.

Mr Dennis added: “He insisted that she pretend they were lovers and that she should show she was enjoying it.”

He said the attacker attempted to rape her in the back of the car but was unable to, and instead forced her to perform a sex act. She was later dropped miles away from home and given £10 for a taxi, the court heard.

Mr Dennis said that Imiela’s movements were traced from his Kent home to Birmingham that day by mobile phone records, credit card transactions, and car sightings by an automatic number plate recognition system.

The girl gave police a description of the car consistent with Imiela’s Citroen, as well as picking him out in a video identification parade.