Sex with girl, 14, denied

A mother told a court yesterday of how a man she knew had sex with her 14-year-old daughter.

Stevie Cunningham told the mother, known only as Mrs Y, that he was giving the schoolgirl a lift home – but instead hedrove her to his house in rural Caithness and slept with her.

The court heard how Mrs Y became concerned after her daughterdidn't appear and her initial search for her took her to 27-year-old Cunningham's then home.

When the father-oftwo answered her knock, a jury at Wick heard, they had just had sex and Cunningham had told the girl to hide in a cupboard.

Mrs Y told the court that when he opened the door, Cunningham said that he had driven the girl, termed Miss X for legal reasons, to Wick to visit a friend.

“He said he had driven the girl to a friend’s house”

Cunningham, now of Murray Avenue, Wick, denies on indictment having sex with a girl under the age of 16, on February 19,2015, claiming he didn't know she was underage.

Mrs Y subsequently located her daughter and took her home. Initially, the girl didn't tell her parents what had happened but then burst into tears and told them everything.

Cunningham told court yesterday that Miss X had told him she was “16 turning 17" and added: “That is God's honest truth."

Cunningham said he was going to get a condom but the girl told him it wasn't necessary as she had a contraception implant.

The jury are expected to retire today to consider their verdict.