A vulnerable teenage girl with learning difficulties was forced into prostitution by an 18-year-old man she had just met, a court heard.
The girl, who was just 17 at the time of the alleged offence in 2005, was tricked into meeting defendant Shane Whiteley in a car with another male.
Whiteley, 30, who was 18 at the time, asked to meet his victim under false pretenses and it was only when she got into his car with another unknown male present that he revealed the true reason behind the meeting.
She was allegedly forced to try and sell her body on a busy nightlife street in Sheffield city centre between November 12 and November 15, 2005.
Opening Whiteley’s trial at Sheffield Crown Court, prosecutor Peter Hampton said: “She was told she was going to be taken to West Street because she was going to be prostituted.
“She made it clear she did not want to carry out such acts – she said she wanted to go home.
“She was intimidated and was threatened with violence unless she complied.
“He made her stand on a street corner, then aged 17, with learning difficulties.
“Whiteley and the other man watched from the comfort of their car.”
Mr Hampton said “fortunately the girl was not approached” but told jurors that it was the Crown’s case that even though Whiteley’s attempt to prostitute the girl was not successful he had still committed a crime.
The court heard how his alleged victim, now aged 29, reported the incident to police in 2005 but chose not to proceed with the complaint “through fear of Shane Whiteley and what the repercussions might be”.
Mr Hampton added: “In 2005, it seems the police were happy to write that off as what’s referred to as a ‘non-crime’.”
The girl reported the incident to the police again in 2015 when she successfully picked Whiteley out of a line-up, the court was told.
Whiteley, of Sheffield, South Yorks., denies one count of child prostitution.
The trial continues.
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