Former Plymouth Argyle player accused of rape

A FORMER Plymouth Argyle footballer raped a friend he met on the internet in a country lane even though she told him she did not want to have sex on a first date, a jury has been told.

Former England Under 16 and 17 striker Liam Head snatched the teenager's phone away from her so she could not call for help and then subjected her to a 20-minute ordeal, Exeter Crown Court was told.

The alleged attack started in the car park of Chudleigh Cricket Club but the woman told Head it was covered by CCTV in the hope he would stop and his response was to move to a nearby layby and carry on, the court heard.

Head is a former schoolboy international and was a trainee and first team player with Plymouth Argyle before playing for Tiverton Town and Forest Green Rovers on loan. He is now back with his first club Bovey Tracey.

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The jury at Exeter Crown Court were told he is a professional footballer and asked if they had any close connection with Plymouth Argyle before they were empanelled.

Head, aged 21, of Newton Road, Bovey Tracey, denies rape. He says she consented to everything that happened.

Mr Malcolm Galloway, prosecuting, said the footballer made contact with the woman, over the age of 16, through the internet and they exchanged suggestive texts before arranging to meet.

In the texts he told her he had an underwear fetish.

He picked her up in his car close to the cricket ground in Chudleigh and although she wanted to go for a drink he took her to its car park, which had no other cars in it.

The court heard they kissed but she objected when he went further and started sexual contact. He took her phone off her and carried on, eventually offering her the option of two sorts of sex.

She said they could be sex buddies, but only if they met again the next night, and said she was unhappy about the speed of his advances.

Mr Galloway said: "She made it clear to Head she did not want to have sex with him. She did so because they were in a deserted lay-by, she did not know what was going to happen, and he was getting more and more angry.

"He gave her two choices but both involved having sex with him in some way. She said 'no, not on the first meeting'. The prosecution's case is that there was no choice. She was scared and frightened."

Mr Galloway said Head told her 'good girls were boring' but he thought she was 'naughty'. He became angry when she tried to stop him and told him she had only known him for ten minutes.

After the alleged attack he dropped her off in the centre of Chudleigh, and returned her phone which she used to call friends.

They went and sat with her on the War Memorial where they persuaded her to go to the hospital and then call the police.

The trial continues.