Mother of girl, 12, who was sexually abused by step-father may not have told police due to 'cultural factors'

Reading Crown Court heard that the girl would be "screaming at the defendant to stop" forcefully hitting her.

The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, lived with the 34-year-old defendant in her mother's flat in Windsor, Berkshire, which was in a filthy condition.

Pictures displayed to the jury showed dirty laundry stacked in the bathroom, a filthy cooker and oven and piles of dishes which had not been cleaned, reports the Daily Mail.

The girl told police the step-father would "hit her for his own pleasure" and would just "storm into her room" and slap her in the face.

Mark Gadsden, prosecuting, told the jury: "You will think that would be the worst thing in the world, this particular mother decided not to act.

"She was in thrall to the defendant, she was in love with the defendant, she had just had the defendant's child.

"It may or may not be there are cultural factors at work as well. She was used to not having an argument with the male of the house. Who knows, we did not see her, we do not know."

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Neither the prosecution nor the defence had called the mother to give evidence as a witness during the trial, something the jury had questioned the court in a written note.

The judge in the case told the jury not to speculate as to the reasons why they had not heard from the mother.

Gadsden, who pointed to the pictures of the family home taken by police added: "That sort of mother, who was prepared to leave the kitchen in that kind of condition and the sink in that kind of condition, might be the sort of person who did not respond positively to her child asking for help."

The jury unanimously convicted the defendant of ill-treatment of a person under 16, two counts of sexual assault of a child under 13 and one count of rape of a child under 13.

Recorder Jeremy Benson KC told jurors: "A substantial custodial sentence is likely to be the result, as a result of the kind of offending and the breach of trust."

The step-father was remanded into custody ahead of a sentencing date to be fixed.