Man denies raping girl, 15, in sea off busy beach

A MAN took a 15-year-old girl who could not swim out of her depth in the sea and raped her, a jury has been told.

- Ben Mitchell

Gabriel Marinoaica, 20, denies rape and four counts of sexual assault.

Ellie Fargin, prosecuting, said that the alleged victim had been in the water with friends off Bournemouth in 2021 when she started playing with a ball with another group.

After her two friends had gone back to the beach, Marinoaica is said to have gone to fetch the ball when it had been kicked away, Ms Fargin told Bournemouth Crown Court yesterday.

She claimed that Marinoaica, from Darlaston in the West Midlands, had initially refused to give the ball back but did so when the girl asked a second time.

Ms Fargin said he asked the girl's name and her age before telling her that his name was Dabby and he was from Birmingham.