AN 11-YEAR-OLD Basingstoke boy was sexually abused by a man who ran a film club for children in Oakridge, a court has heard.

Michael Geoffrey Smith, now 66 of Madrid Road in Guildford, is accused of sexually assaulting two teenagers during the 1980s.

WARNING: Some content could be distressing.

The court heard on Tuesday how Smith allegedly abused one of the boys, an 11-year-old, multiple times over the summer holidays.

After he went to his house to tell his parents of the new film club, he arranged for 'private screenings' because the victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, did not like enclosed spaces and being too close to other people.

However, the victim alleged that Mr Smith "singled me out" because he was the youngest at the screenings, and claimed he was "educating" him about sexual activity.

Guildford Crown Court was told of one occasion where Mr Smith, who was 26 at the time, went to see the boy at Reading station uninvited, after he mentioned he would be trainspotting there.

They went to London to do more trainspotting, and on the way back from the capital, the victim, who gave evidence in court behind a screen, said he was "forcibly kissed" by the defendant in a train compartment.

"Mr Smith forced his tongue in my mouth," he told the court. "I could feel all of his stubble scratching my face. I became quite distressed, I was crying."

The former railway worker allegedly told the boy that it was "their secret", and over the coming weeks, the abuse continued, according to prosecutor Fern Russell.

"He had broken away from most of his young friends," she told the court, "and had yet to make new friends. He felt the defendant was giving him the attention he craved.

"That is why he spent a lot of time with him that summer. Mr Smith effectively set himself up as some sort of teacher or educator."

The victim continued, recalling a separate incident: "He followed me into the downstairs toilet [at his maisonette in Freemantle Close].

"He said he was going to teach me how to clean myself." He said that Mr Smith touched him inappropriately. 

"He would get me to undress, then he'd undress himself," the victim alleged. 

He claimed that Mr Smith attempted to have oral sex with him. Later in the summer, Mr Smith also allegedly tried to have sex with the boy.

"At the time, it was better than being at home with my brothers," he told the court. "[I am] not saying they’re evil but there was a lot of fighting between us and I always got hurt.

"To go somewhere else and be hurt but be cherished at the same time, it was better than being at home. I was the youngest of all the children that went to Mr Smith’s house, and he singled me out, because he’s a ******* pervert. I have lived with that paedophile for 35 years in my head."

However, Ruby Salva, defence counsel, cast doubt on his version of events, saying that she believed they "didn't happen".

Mr Smith denies all of the charges. The trial continues.

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