Man denies raping drunk Plymouth schoolgirl in park

A MAN dragged a drunken schoolgirl into bushes and raped her, a court has heard.

Craig Goldstone, aged 28, arrested on suspicion of the attack then escaped from police custody by running out of an open door into the city centre, Plymouth Crown Court heard.

Goldstone allegedly took advantage of the girl who had drunk so much cider in Devonport Park that she was sick and could not stand up, a jury heard. The teenager fell asleep and was found later that night by a passer-by.

Goldstone, of no fixed address, denies raping the girl on July 5 last year.

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Lee Bremridge, opening the trial for the Crown Prosecution Service, said the girl was drinking cider, smoking and chatting with a friend in the park that evening. He added Goldstone came by walking his dog and they all began chatting. Mr Bremridge said the friend, a woman in her 20s, left the younger girl in the park with Goldstone.

He said the girl admitted she was very drunk, had been sick and could not get up from where she was sitting on the grass.

Mr Bremridge added: "The defendant dragged her to some bushes near where they were sat and raped her."

He said the girl told police the man had told her he was called Craig and described a Liverpool football jacket he was wearing.

Mr Bremridge added Goldstone was found in the early hours of the next morning at the nearby Salvation Army hostel. The court heard a Liverpool top was found in his room.

He said Goldstone was arrested and interviewed, saying he had seen two girls drinking and talking to two men with a dog in the park. But he denied that he had "got involved" with the group.

Mr Bremridge said he was held at Charles Cross police station until July 7.

He added: "What happened next was extraordinary. As he was waiting at the police station for his photograph to be taken, he bolted. He ran off from the police station through an open door and ran into the centre of Plymouth.

"A police manhunt was started and in fact he was found later that night."

Mr Bremridge said DNA found on the girl's body was matched to a sample taken from Goldstone.

The court watched a video interview of the girl in which she admitted she had been "paralytic" that night.

She said: "I could not get up, I was very drunk.

"It is not normal for me. It was probably the worst I have been."

The teenager said she had had sex before.

Ali Rafati, for Goldstone, suggested to the girl she had asked the defendant for sex.

He said: "You have claimed you have been raped because you have had sex with someone you should not have and had too much to drink.

"It was going to cause a lot of problems for you.

"If you blamed someone else for your condition, it would make it all go away."

The girl denied this.

Mr Rafati told the jury that Goldstone had Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and could appear restless or lacking focus.

The trial continues.