Coronation Street actor, 48, denies charges including rape and indecent assault
The Coronation Street actor Michael Le Vell carried out a string of sexual attacks on a girl from the time she was six years old, a court has heard.
Le Vell, 48, plays the role of the car mechanic Kevin Webster in Britain's favourite TV soap.
He is appearing at Manchester crown court under his real name, Michael Turner, and denies all the charges against him.
The jury was told that he faces five counts of rape, three of indecent assault, and two each of sexual activity with a child and causing a child to engage in such activity.
One of the rape allegations is a specimen charge, the others specific to a particular occasion.
Le Vell, from Hale, Cheshire, sat in the glass-panelled dock in a light grey suit with a dark scarf draped over his shoulders.
Eleanor Laws QC, prosecuting, told the jury of eight women and four men that after the first occasion of rape the girl had nightmares and frequently wet the bed. She said: "She talked to no one but her teddies about what had happened to her. She was scared if she told anyone she would get into trouble."
Le Vell had threatened her, telling her: "It's our little secret. No one needs to know, otherwise you'll be taken … You'll die and the evil will come over you."
The child believed him, said Laws.
The allegations against Le Vell emerged in September 2011.
A medical examination found no apparent damage to the girl's hymen.
But Laws said: "It is important to understand that a substantial proportion of sexually abused children have no abnormal signs. Children can be confused as to what full sexual intercourse really involves.
"It was common for a child with an unsophisticated understanding of what happened to misinterpret simulated or attempted intercourse for full penetration. That is what the Crown suggest has happened in this case."
The trial continues.
Nigel Bunyantheguardian.com © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds Reported by guardian.co.uk 2 hours ago.
The Coronation Street actor Michael Le Vell carried out a string of sexual attacks on a girl from the time she was six years old, a court has heard.
Le Vell, 48, plays the role of the car mechanic Kevin Webster in Britain's favourite TV soap.
He is appearing at Manchester crown court under his real name, Michael Turner, and denies all the charges against him.
The jury was told that he faces five counts of rape, three of indecent assault, and two each of sexual activity with a child and causing a child to engage in such activity.
One of the rape allegations is a specimen charge, the others specific to a particular occasion.
Le Vell, from Hale, Cheshire, sat in the glass-panelled dock in a light grey suit with a dark scarf draped over his shoulders.
Eleanor Laws QC, prosecuting, told the jury of eight women and four men that after the first occasion of rape the girl had nightmares and frequently wet the bed. She said: "She talked to no one but her teddies about what had happened to her. She was scared if she told anyone she would get into trouble."
Le Vell had threatened her, telling her: "It's our little secret. No one needs to know, otherwise you'll be taken … You'll die and the evil will come over you."
The child believed him, said Laws.
The allegations against Le Vell emerged in September 2011.
A medical examination found no apparent damage to the girl's hymen.
But Laws said: "It is important to understand that a substantial proportion of sexually abused children have no abnormal signs. Children can be confused as to what full sexual intercourse really involves.
"It was common for a child with an unsophisticated understanding of what happened to misinterpret simulated or attempted intercourse for full penetration. That is what the Crown suggest has happened in this case."
The trial continues.
Nigel Bunyantheguardian.com © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds Reported by guardian.co.uk 2 hours ago.