THE former personal assistant of a karate teacher accused of raping a Wyre Forest schoolgirl pupil denied to a jury today that she had lied on oath to protect him.

Lavinder Kudhail spent a morning in the witness box at Gloucester Crown Court testifying on behalf of Jaspal Riat, 48, who denies 11 sex offences against the girl.

Mrs Kudhail told the jury she had not seen or heard any evidence to justify the claims made by the girl - who is now dead - that she had a sexual relationship with Riat when she was aged 13 and 14.

Riat, of Denewood Avenue, Handsworth Wood, Birmingham, denies two charges of raping the girl, one charge of sexual assault and eight of sexual activity with a child.

He has declined to go into the witness box and give evidence in his own defence and Judge Jamir Tabor QC has told the jury that they can draw an adverse inference from that.

During the trial, which started last week, the jury has seen videoed police interviews with the girl, who described sex sessions in which she was sometimes tied up or bitten by Riat.

The girl said she often stayed overnight with Riat for “private” karate lessons and they would sleep together and have sex regularly.

In evidence Mrs Kudhail, who was Riat's PA at the KAMA karate organisation in Birmingham, said she was aware the girl had stayed overnight with him three times. She also knew that he had stayed the night once at the girl's family home, she said.

She said she trusted Riat.

Mrs Kudhail denied suggestions from prosecuting QC Alan Kent that she was lying to protect Riat, her own reputation and the reputation of the club.

She said Riat himself had told her the girl stayed overnight with him three times and he was “not happy about it” but allowed her to stay because her parents were unable to collect her.

She said she could not explain why Riat decided to stay a night in the girl's family home when he went there to deliver documentation for a foreign trip.

Earlier, the jury heard evidence from the girl's father, who said Riat would sleep in his daughter's bedroom when he stayed overnight with them on two to three occasions.

The father said that when he collected her from the karate club three nights a week she would always be the last one to come out. She would usually leave with Riat after the lights had gone out in the hall.

"She was brilliant at karate. She was excellent," he said, "She got trophies for it that we were so proud of."

He said when she reached brown belt the cost of her training for her black was too high for them but Riat said he would give her free lessons as long as they were prepared to “work around him”.

"The free lessons were going to be at his private address in West Bromwich," he said.

The first time she went there, her parents dropped her off at Sainsbury's in Oldbury and Riat collected her from there. He took her to his home and returned her the next morning, said the father.

"We knew she was spending the night with him and as she was 13 we were a bit concerned. We didn't know what was going to happen.

"But we agreed to allow it and we put our trust in him that he would look after her for us."

The father said that sometimes Riat would ring them at midnight or 1am and ask them to take the girl to his flat for karate training.

He said they thought it was odd but those were the times when Riat said he was able to give the girl free lessons.

"We thought there would be other people in the apartment as well - more students," he said.

Riat sometimes stayed at the family home and when he did he would sleep in the girl's room, on the floor in a sleeping bag, said the father.

"No-one ever told me there was any question of her being involved in a sexual relationship with him," he said, "but one day we had a phone call from someone we didn't know who said Mr Riat was having a sexual relationship with her.

"I couldn't believe it. I rang him and asked what was going on. He said there was nothing going on between him and our daughter. I said OK. "

He said his wife rang Riat the next day and they then spoke to their daughter, who was “very angry that we had got in touch with him”. That night, he said, she took an overdose of tablets.

"I found her at 7.15am when I thought it was a bit strange that she had not got up and had a shower to get ready for school.

"We called an ambulance and she was taken to hospital. We were told her heart stopped in the ambulance and she had to be resuscitated. She was kept in hospital for a while and then went to a psychiatric unit in Stoke on Trent."

The trial is now nearing its end and after hearing prosecution and defence closing speeches tomorrow, the jury is expected to be sent out on Friday by Judge Jamie Tabor QC to consider its verdicts.