A Highland man has told a court of his “surprise” to learn that a girl he had recently slept with was only 15.
Angus Francis, 27, of Ross Place in Fort William, is on trial before a sheriff and jury.
He was originally charged with having sex with two underage girls in 2006 and 2012, which he denies.
On day three of the trial yesterday the Crown dropped the charge from 2006, when he had been accused of having sex with a 14-year-old girl when he was 17.
Referring about the incident in 2012, Francis told the court that the girl, who was then 14, had lied to him and told him she was 16.
He said they had sex in his aunt’s house, a few weeks after meeting in a pub.
But that a matter of weeks later, a mutual friend told him the girl had only just turned 15.
Defence agent Lewis Kennedy asked: “What was your reaction?”
Francis replied: “I felt sick. I was very shaken, very surprised. I didn’t even want to think about it.
“I went pale. I was a bit shakey. I had to go to the bathroom and wash my face. I was very unnerved by the situation that had just been revealed to me.
“She said that she was 15 and she told me to stay well away from her. I said, ‘I will’.”
Mr Kennedy said: “Did you stay away from her?”
Francis continued: “Oban is a small town. I would sometimes meet her outside Tesco hanging around a crowd of peers.
“We did have a few conversations on the phone. I asked her why she lied. She said she was sorry, she didn’t want to seem uncool.
“She is a very strong woman. I told her to stay away, she kind of understood.”
Mr Kennedy asked: “How did you treat her?”
Francis replied: “Very cold shouldered for a while. Obviously I didn’t want her to hate me, to feel like something was my fault.”
He said that they later started a relationship in 2013, after the girl turned 16.
The girl, now 19, previously told the court that they had sex at various locations in Oban between April 2012 and June 2013 when she was 14 and 15.
She said: “He told me I couldn’t tell anybody because it was our secret. He could get into trouble.”
The trial continues on Monday.
