Ex-Dragon's Den Star 'Paid Girl, 13, For Sex'

A former Dragons' Den star paid a 13-year-old girl to be his sex slave after meeting her on a "sugar daddy" website, a court has heard.

Doug Richard, 57, allegedly had sex with the teenager in a pre-booked apartment in London.
The court heard he gave the alleged victim and her 15-year-old friend £480 in cash and PayPal deposits, including their train fare from Norwich.

Richard outside the Old Bailey

The millionaire, of Islington, north London is accused of three counts of sexual activity with a child, one of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and a charge of paying for sexual services.
He denies the charges, insisting the sex was "consensual" and that he "reasonably believed" the alleged victim was aged 16 or over.
He also says the money was not for sex but to help with the pair's travel expenses.
Prosecutor Gino Connor told an Old Bailey jury that Richard met the girl through an American website called Seeking Arrangements.
Richard listed himself as a "sugar daddy" while the 13-year-old girl called herself a "sugar baby".
Deleted iChat recovered from the defendant's Apple MacBook air revealed how Richard suggested they meet after school in December 2014 as he found weekends difficult.
They eventually arranged to meet in London and the defendant made a payment of £120 through PayPal on New Year's Eve.
The 13-year-old travelled with a 15-year-old friend to Liverpool Street Station on the morning of 2 January last year and met Richard at a nearby cafe.
When he asked how old they were, the girls told him they were 16 and 17, Mr Connor said.
According to a statement by the older girl, they went to a hired apartment in Bishopsgate where Richard asked her if she wanted to be his "slave".
When she declined, he allegedly told her that her friend had told him she wanted to be "someone's slave".
The 13-year-old subsequently took off all her clothes and Richard smacked her seven times before taking her into a bedroom where they had sex.
Afterwards, Richard gave both girls £60 and called them a taxi so they could go shopping at American Apparel before returning home.
Police were alerted after the mother of the older girl noticed a PayPal deposit in her bank account.
The trial is expected to last four days.