A 14-YEAR-OLD girl texted her mum saying she was scared as she was being driven to a deserted spot where she was held prisoner and raped by Stroud man Jordan Maxwell, 20, a jury was told today.

The girl barely knew Maxwell but had felt flattered by his interest in her on Facebook and agreed to sneak out of her home late one night in May to meet him, Gloucester Crown Court heard.

Her mum was out at the time and was travelling home from a concert when she got texts from the girl saying she was scared, explained prosecutor Ian Fenny.

Later, when the girl finally got home at 1.30am, she was “very distressed” and told her anxious mum she had been out with a man and smoking cannabis.

She would not say more at that time but when her mum pressed her she said Maxwell had forced himself on her, said Mr Fenny.

The mother then immediately called the police, the girl was interviewed and Maxwell was arrested.

Maxwell, of Delmont Grove, Uplands, Stroud, denies falsely imprisoning the girl in his car and raping her on May 22 this year.

Mr Fenny told the jury: "Our case is that this 14-year-old girl was not quite as grown up or resourceful as she thought she was.

"You may conclude she was flattered by the interest shown in her by an older boy who was at the time just a month short of his 20th birthday.

"She agreed to meet this man at night. He knew how old she was. She had told him.”

He said the girl barely knew Maxwell before that day but had seen him around Stroud and they had mutual friends.

"There had been a casual meeting between them a couple of weeks before this incident,” he added.

“There had also been Facebook exchanges between them. They began to exchange messages.

"On May 21 this year they were in contact with one another during the day. She agreed to meet him in the evening. She had at least some idea that they would be smoking cannabis.

"She wanted to bring a friend with her because she was frightened about being with him on her own. But he said 'No, I want to meet you on your own because I want to get to know you.'

"Between 11pm and midnight she slipped out of her home to meet him.

"She later told the police she was scared about what lay ahead. But it was certainly not the case that she was expecting she would be raped.

"He met her in his red Volvo S60 in Ebley. He produced a cannabis spliff and they smoked together. He then produced a second spliff and she says she felt different when she smoked it. She said it felt weird.

"He then drove so fast that it frightened her. He held her leg while he was driving.

"She sent her mum a series of texts at that stage. In the first she said 'Sorry Mum, I snuck out. But I'm scared. I will be home by the time you get back but I need to chat with you. I am sorry.’"

Four minutes later she texted “Mum, I'm scared.”

Mr Fenny said her mother picked up the messages at 1.17am and replied “Where are you?” then “I will come and get you, where are you,” followed by: “Answer me please” and finally “Please, we are out looking.”

The defendant drove to Folly Lane, Stroud - a quiet, deserted, dark rural area where he raped her, said the prosecutor.

"Afterwards, after he had finished, they sat in silence.  He then drove her away from the scene.

"By now her mum and her partner were out trying to find her. You can only imagine what was going through mum's mind.

"Eventually she got contact from her daughter, who arrived home at 1.30am."

Mr Fenny said the girl gave police a full account of what happened on May 31.

The defendant was arrested on June 7 and gave a prepared statement in which he said he believed the girl was sixteen and that she had consented to sex and was a willing partner.

The jury heard the girl's video recorded police interview in which she said she was “petrified” as Maxwell raped her.

The trial continues.