Asylum Seeker Denies Raping Teenager After Alleged Car Park Luring

An asylum seeker has denied repeatedly raping a 16-year-old girl after allegedly luring her into a city centre car park. Mourad Iyad Marei Salloum, 20, is accused of carrying out the attack after meeting the teenager minutes earlier when she asked him and a friend for a cigarette.

Salloum, originally from Jordan, is on trial at Manchester Crown Court and denies three counts of rape and one of sexual assault. Giving evidence through an interpreter, he admitted meeting the girl on the night of February 28. He stated that the teenager, who claimed to be almost 19, initiated physical contact, hugging and kissing him. Salloum asserted that he and his friend refused her request to go home with them, explaining they were staying at a "Home Office hotel." He also claimed she asked for £20 for a taxi.

Salloum told the jury he left the girl and later traveled to another part of the city, denying he went to any car park. When questioned by his defense counsel, Barry Grennan, he stated, "No, never," when asked if he had raped her.

The prosecution presented evidence that DNA found on the teenager's neck and jogging bottoms is "one billion times more likely" to belong to Salloum than an unknown male. Previously, the jury heard that the girl had gone into the city centre to meet friends, became separated, and had consumed four alcoholic drinks. She recalled meeting two men, allegedly including Salloum, and asking for a cigarette. The prosecution alleges that CCTV footage shows the teenager following the men to a car park, where the assault occurred. The jury was told the attack was interrupted by Salloum's friend, who then asked, "When is it my turn?"

The teenager claims her attacker kissed her twice, with the second kiss causing a "love-bite" from which DNA evidence was collected. The prosecution alleges that attempts were made to take the teenager to a nearby hotel, but she managed to escape and alert passers-by before contacting the police. Salloum has disputed the CCTV evidence, claiming it shows a different man and that the teenager does not appear in the footage. The trial is ongoing.