THE jury in the trial of a teacher accused of raping a schoolgirl was today told it could consider a charge of attempted rape as an alternative to rape.
Judge David MacLaren-Webster told the 12 members of the jury in the trial of history teacher Lee Savage of the new charge as he began summing up the case.
The judge said the jury could only consider the alternative if it found Savage not guilty of raping the 17-year-old in April this year.
Savage, head of history at Sharples Secondary School, Bolton, is alleged to have raped and indecently assaulted the girl at a student trade fair.
Winchester Crown Court has heard the married schoolmaster allegedly attacked her after a night out during the Young Enterprise convention on the Isle of Wight.
Savage, aged 31, of Roseland Drive, Prestwich, denies all charges, saying the girl, from the Bolton area, was a willing participant in sex in an empty chalet.
Judge MacLaren-Webster began summing up the case today and is expected to send the jury out tomorrow morning.
The trial continues.
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