Sultani Bakatash, 28, is alleged to have sexually assaulted the girls inside a flat in Bolton on December 6 last year
A man appeared in court to deny raping two 14-year-old girls. Sultani Bakatash, 28, is alleged to have sexually assaulted the girls in Bolton in December last year.
Bakatash, appearing at Bolton Crown Court via videolink from Forest Bank Prison, denied two charges of rape; two charges of sexual assault by penetration; and one sexual assault.
Speaking via a Dari interpreter, Afghan national Mr Bakatasah denied all the charges as they were read out by the clerk of the court. The defendant was represented by Paul Becker in court and the prosecution by Harriet Lavin.
Judge Nicholas Clarke KC, the Recorder of Bolton, adjourned the case until a case management hearing on February 12. A five-day trial has been scheduled to begin on June 8.
An earlier hearing at Manchester Magistrates’ Court heard Mr Bakatash has been in the UK for two years and has been granted indefinite leave to remain, together with his mother, two brothers and two sisters, who are also living in the UK.
Following the latest hearing, the defendant was remanded in custody.
