ACCUSED TEACHER: Lee Savage denies rape and indecent assault A SCHOOLGIRL wept as she told a court she was brutally raped by a married teacher who befriended her at a student trade fair.

The 17-year-old put her trust in history teacher Lee Savage to walk her back to the holiday park where they were staying after a night out.

But the teenager said Savage, head of history at Sharples Secondary School, Bolton, instead took her to an empty chalet at the holiday complex and raped her.

Savage, aged 31, of Roseland Drive, Prestwich, denies rape and indecent assault at Winchester Crown Court, Hampshire.

Pushed

The court heard the virgin schoolgirl allege she was pushed on to a double bed and forced her to perform a sex act.

The girl broke down in tears as she told a jury that Savage removed some of her clothing before raping her.

She said she tried desperately to stop him, but he carried on and sniggered when she told him he would lose his career as a teacher.

She escaped after a concerned friend came looking for her and shouted her name near to the chalet. Later that day the girl confided in her friend that she had been raped.

The jury was told the girl had travelled to the Isle of Wight from her school in Bolton for a Young Enterprise Programme trade fair.

Father-of-three Savage was helping to run the fair at Shanklin, which was attended by 450 pupils and teachers from the West Pennines region, many of whom stayed at the seaside town's Haven Holiday Park.

The girl told the court that on March 31 this year she had gone with friends to a disco at the complex. She drank two bacardi and cokes, an orange and vodka, and two bottles of Smirnoff Ice.

At about 1am her friends left her and she went to sit on a chair near to Savage and, after a brief conversation, she left but noticed someone behind her. Giving evidence behind a screen, she said: "I felt somebody walking behind me, and then I turned round and saw Lee Savage.

"I sort of smiled nervously to acknowledge him. He said: 'I'll walk you back to your caravan', and I said: 'No, I'm fine on my own.'

"But he insisted. I thought I was OK, he was a teacher and I thought he was just taking it as part of his duty.

"I know I was stumbling, at that point I wasn't particularly comfortable.

"He took my arm and he kind of pulled me the other way to the one that I was going. We crossed a fence and he led me down a grassy bank.

"He said that he had seen me in the Pizza Hut restaurant in Newport (the Isle of Wight capital) the previous day and he had recognised me and that I caught his eye or something.

"I felt really uncomfortable and thought it was inappropriate because he was a teacher and he was a lot older than me.

The girl, who does not attend the same school as Savage, said the pair then reached a chalet.

She said: "He grabbed my arm tighter and he tried to open the door. I tried to close it but he managed to open it and pulled me inside.

Scream

"I was scared, I didn't know what to do. I said: 'Get off me, let me go, what are you doing?'. He didn't say anything.

"He just pulled me through into the bedroom. He pushed me down on the bed. I stood up again but he pushed me down again.

She said she was then made to perform a sex act and Savage then raped her.

"I tried to scream or speak or something but I couldn't. I said to him: 'This is your career', but he just sniggered and carried on.

The girl said Savage then held her down and raped her in an ordeal lasting around 20 minutes. She told the court the rape only stopped when Savage heard someone shouting her name. Peter Glenser, prosecuting, said Savage was arrested at the holiday park later that day. When interviewed he admitted having sexual intercourse with the girl but said it was consensual.

Savage claimed the girl had been looking for empty chalets as they walked back together.

Mr Glenser said a police doctor who examined the girl had found three bruises on her right forearm, bruising on the upper part of her left arm and the kneecap.

He added: "She had never had sexual intercourse or oral intercourse with anybody in her life before. The Crown says that this was rape and indecent assault and that she was not consenting."

(Proceeding)