If you’ve ever watched Dragon’s Den you’ll know that the folks sitting behind the table making judgement calls don’t hold back. It is their money after all, they’re not going to hand it over without careful consideration.

One must deduce then that Doug Richard knew exactly what he was doing when he rented an apartment, paid a 13- and 15-year-old £480 and slept with the younger of the two.

Richard is 57, just by the way, and here’s Metro with his excuse:

The millionaire stands 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.

Richard, who was once an adviser to David Cameron, denies the charges and claims the sex was ‘consensual’, and that he ‘reasonably believed’ the alleged victim was aged 16 or over. He also insists the money was to help with travel expenses and was not payment in exchange for sex.

The two girls had taken the train from Norwich to London, meaning that £480 is a little over the top for just ‘travel expenses’.

Richard had listed himself as a ‘sugar daddy’ on a site called Seeking Arrangements, where he had met the 13-year-old and exchanged lewd messages. After meeting up Richard claimed the girls told him they were 16 and 17 – then this with police:

When he was arrested the next day, Richard asked officers: ‘What if I thought she was over 16 but she was in fact under 16?’

After being advised to discuss it with his lawyer, he added: ‘Under 16. Wow.’

The trial is expected to last around four days, which means there may be more horrid details coming out before this one is wrapped up.

[source:metro]