THE first defendant to give evidence in the trial of 13 Asian males accused of raping a vulnerable underage schoolgirl told the jury she was a willing partner in their sexual encounters.

Yasser Kabir, 25, said he thought the teenager, who was 13 at the time, was a 17-year-old college student.

Kabir, of Belgrave Road, Keighley, denies four allegations of raping the girl, between May 2011 and June 2012.

Yesterday, he told Bradford Crown Court he was living in Kendal Mellor Court in the town at the time of the alleged offences.

Kabir said that he had two or three relationships with girls before 2009.

He first saw his alleged victim in the summer of 2011 when he was playing cricket outside his home.

They met by chance in the street a few times and exchanged friendly banter.

In July, 2011, they went into the underground car park at the town's old police station, on Devonshire Street, because he wanted a cigarette.

"She came closer to me, got touchy, feely, and one thing led to another," he said.

Kabir told the jury the girl undid his clothing and performed oral sex on him.

"I wiped a bit of make-up off my face and then I went home," he said.

He saw her about a fortnight later and they went down the steps behind the library where she again performed oral sex on him, but stopped because someone might have seen them.

Kabir said he thought there may have been a third and final encounter in the underground car park.

"She was all over me," he stated, saying he could not recall what happened next.

In October, 2011, he asked her for oral sex but she replied: "I've got a boyfriend now," and they never spoke again.

Kabir said he never saw the girl with a teenager called Arif Choudhury, who has since left the country.

The Crown alleges he was a violent drug dealer who threatened her into performing sex acts on a group of young men.

Kabir said he did not answer police questions because his solicitor advised him not to.

He told the jury he went daily to the "cop shop" underground car park to smoke cannabis and "chill".

Cross-examined by prosecutor, Michelle Colborne QC, Kabir said he respected the girl. He never saw her in school uniform and they never discussed her age.

A second defendant, Sufyan Ziarab, elected not to give evidence.

His barrister, Robin Frieze, read a report from a psychologist stating that his client was of extremely low intelligence.

Ziarab, 22, of Kendal Mellor Court, Keighley, denies two charges of raping the girl.

Also on trial are: Kabir's half brother, Tauqeer Hussain, 23, of Belgrave Road, Keighley; and Nazir Khan, 23, of Buxton Street, Keighley, who both plead not guilty to three allegations of rape.

Israr Ali, 19, of Devonshire Street West, Keighley; Mohammed Sardar, 19, of Bradford Street, Lawkholme, Keighley; Saqib Younis, 29, of Bradford Street, Lawkholme, Keighley; Bilal Ziarab, 21, of Sedgwick Close, Manningham, Bradford; Zain Ali, 20, of Buxton Street, Keighley, and Faisal Khan, 27, of Buxton Street, Keighley, who all deny two allegations of rape.

Rohail Iqbal, 22, of Skipton Road, Beechcliffe, Keighley; Rohail Hussain, 18, of Hawk Street, Lawkholme, Keighley, and a 17-year-old youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, who plead not guilty to one allegation of rape.

Mohammed Akram, 62, of Holker Street, Keighley, who has pleaded not guilty to a single charge of sexual activity with a child under 16.