A MAN accused of raping a 13-year-old girl said offering £500 for sex was “just a joke”.

Daniel McCaw drank vodka and smoked cannabis with his friend Karen Potter, who introduced him to the teenager, Brighton Crown Court heard.

Potter was described an “old flame” he had slept with when they were younger.

He had “always fancied her” so when he saw her years later on Worthing beach he wanted to get back in contact, jurors were told.

Around a week later he asked to visit Potter at home and found the girl there.

McCaw, now 43, said: “We [the girl and I] were chatting about old boyfriends and girlfriends and the conversation got on to sex.”

The court heard how he offered Potter £500 for a threesome but he insisted it was “just meant as a joke”.

He said: “She [Karen Potter] laughed when I said that and told me to give the money to [the girl]. Then we went upstairs.”

McCaw, of Blacksmiths Crescent, Sompting, admitted having sex with both but insists he thought the girl was 17 and said he did not hand over £500.

He rejected claims he was lying and said several times: “I am telling you the truth.”

He admits later giving the girl smaller amounts of money, claiming she had asked for the money.

He said she had been “interested” when he mentioned getting paid for sex, adding: "Someone definitely told me that she [the girl] fancied me. She told me she was 17."

But he was accused of concocting a "seduction fantasy". 

During cross examination Alan Gardner, prosecuting, said: "Were you surprised that this teenage girl, no disrespect to you sir, that she found you attractive?"

McCaw denies rape, paying for sex with a child and sexual activity in the presence of a child.

The court heard how McCaw claimed Potter phoned him to tell him if the police got in touch to say nothing happened.

He also alleges she approached him at a previous court hearing and said: “Stick to the story”.

Potter, 35, now of Harrison Road, Worthing, denies multiple counts of arranging the prostitution of two girls, of setting them up to be raped by men who paid for sex, and of taking part in sexual activity in the presence of a child.

The trial continues.