A RESTAURANT owner has appeared in court accused of plying a teenager with alcohol before raping her.

Shibbir Ahmed’s defence solicitor Matthew Swash indicated Ahmed would deny the charge of rape when the case was opened at Colchester Magistrates Court.

Magistrates declined jurisdiction of the case yesterday and the case will be heard at a crown court.

Businessman Ahmed, who is involved with the running of Tandoori Villa in Villa Road, Stanway, also denied three counts of sexual assault on a second female in 2016.

Ahmed is accused of having touched the woman inappropriately over her clothing.

He claims the inadvertent touching was not sexual.

David Bryant, prosecuting, told the court the rape charge, dating back several years, is distinct from the other allegations.

The alleged victim was 18 at the time.

Ahmed, 57, of Coronation Avenue, Colchester, was granted unconditional bail.

The court heard he was the subject of a sexual risk order which has been in place since January 2017.

Under the order Ahmed is banned from unsupervised contact anyone under 18 and is not allowed to offer gifts or lifts to girls under 18.

Mr Bryant said he was happy for magistrates to not impose any bail conditions provided this order was extended again.

Magistrates agreed with police to extend the order until 2019 “in the hope the criminal proceedings will be finished by then”.

The court heard he had no previous convictions.

Mark Paget, chairman of the bench, said: “You have been on this interim sexual risk order, you know the conditions and understand they have been put in place until January 3 2019, or such date whereby the case is completed.”

He will next appear at Chelmsford Crown Court in May.