A TEENAGE girl has recalled how she felt ‘scared’ when a man allegedly cat-called her in the street on her way home from school.
She had been walking home from Langley Grammar School in Slough on March 2 last year when a man, walking in the opposite direction from her, reportedly said: “Hey baby girl” and “Can I get in your knickers?”
Philip Goldswain, 61, is now standing trial at Reading Crown Court charged with a sexual offence against another schoolgirl which allegedly occurred the day before.
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He has not faced a charge for the alleged cat-calling incident but the teenager has given evidence in court to support the prosecution’s case against Goldswain.
Giving her evidence on Wednesday (October 18), the teenager said she was walking along Common Road when she noticed the man walking in the opposite direction.
She said: “He was a white male, in his 50s or 60s, he had two missing teeth, he was skinny and his hair was scruffy.
“I looked back and he had started walking in the same direction as me. He said, ‘You’re beautiful, you know’ and I said thank you and hoped he would leave me alone after that.
“He then asked me for my name and I ignored him. He said he liked my uniform and said, ‘Can I get in your knickers?’
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“I immediately said no. I felt really scared.”
The jury heard that the girl had recorded some of the incident on her phone before she called her dad to come and meet her at a nearby store.
When asked why she had called her dad, the girl said she didn’t want the defendant to know where she lived.
She added that the whole incident last about five minutes and the closest Goldswain allegedly got to her was half a metre away.
The incident was later reported to the police by the Reddington Drive school and the girl was asked to identify Goldswain from a police parade.
It is unknown why Goldswain did not face a charge for the cat-calling but he was charged with one count of intentionally causing or inciting a girl aged 13, not reasonably believing she was aged 16 or over, to engage in sexual activity.
This count allegedly occurred the day before.
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Goldswain, of Quantock Close, Slough, has denied the offence. He is due to start his defence case at the same court on Thursday (October 19).
The trial continues.
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