A former security worker accused of repeatedly raping and sexually abusing a schoolgirl in his caravan has admitted he wanted "to flee" the country.

Ernest Gunar told jurors he "panicked" as he knew police were looking for him, officers had gone to his mum's home, and that even his innocent father, who shares his name, had been arrested.

But he maintained that although he had searched online for potential bus, train, and plane journeys abroad before eventually being arrested at Glasgow Airport, he had done nothing wrong other than have sex with an underage youngster who had claimed to be 19.

The 27-year-old from Folkestone denied being a "paedophile or child predator", or that he had plied the girl with drugs, removed her clothes or raped her multiple times.

He also said he had only branded her "a slag" when he was detained in Scotland because he was "emotional and angry".

The dad of two, his cousin Kevin Horvath, 26, and fellow Slovakian Ivan Turtak, 38, are on trial at Canterbury Crown Court accused of targeting the vulnerable victim - who was a stranger to them - and then exploiting and coercing her for their sexual gratification.

It is alleged she was used "like a receptacle" by the three men, first at Turtak's flat in Dover and then Gunar's caravan in Folkestone.

The court has heard how the girl told police that as well as being subjected to numerous rapes at the two locations and in Horvath's Skoda, she was given alcohol, drugs to smoke, and threatened she would be harmed if she tried to escape.

Giving evidence on Monday and Tuesday this week, Gunar, who previously worked at Folkestone Harbour Arm, told the jury he first met the girl when Horvath turned up with her "randomly" at night outside his mum's house in the town.

He said he then invited them to his nearby caravan in Arthur Street because they told him they had nowhere to stay and he wanted company.

Telling the court he believed she was 19 from the date of birth she gave him, he described having fallen asleep, only to wake to see the girl "laughing and smiling" while having sex with his cousin.

Gunar claimed she then beckoned him over and performed a sex act on him before they too engaged in intercourse.

He agreed he regarded her as "Kevin's friend" and she had not been flirting with him. He also accepted he was "not put off" by the fact his cousin was having sex with her.

But he denied "joining in" or having used force, and when asked by his barrister Ronnie Manek what he understood rape to be, Gunar replied: “Basically holding someone down and doing something to them that they don’t want.”

Mr Manek then asked: “Did you have sex on that occasion against her will?” to which the defendant replied "No."

The former Pent Valley Technology College pupil also denied kidnapping or forcefully imprisoning the girl, as well as the allegation that he threatened to kill her if she attempted to run away.

While admitting that he smokes cannabis and sells it to friends, he also rejected any suggestion that he had given his alleged victim drugs.

Mr Manek continued: “The prosecution’s case is that you exploited and coerced her, that you used her by giving her drugs and took advantage of her sexually. Did that happen?”

“No,” said Gunar, who has also worked as a janitor at Sainsbury’s in Hythe.

His barrister then asked: “The prosecution says you supplied her with drugs and had sexual intercourse with her on two occasions, did that happen?” Again, he replied “No”.

The court heard it was only after he discovered the girl's true age that he left Kent, went to his sister's in the Midlands and Googled the Eurostar as well as flights from Dublin to Malaga in Spain, and buses to Belfast.

Gunar said he was "in shock" at the age revelation and, when asked by Mr Manek about his plans and why he made the phone searches, he replied: "I was going to flee the country, leave the country.

"While I was at my sister's house, the police searched the caravan and went into my mum's house and that's when I panicked even more.

"She (my sister) just told me 'They are looking for you and are at mum's address.' That's when my dad got arrested because we have the same name."

Having confirmed to the court that his father was released without charge, Gunar was asked what was going through his mind.

"I was so scared I didn't know what I was doing. I didn't know what I wanted to do," he replied.

"I wanted to flee the country but I didn't know where I wanted to go. They (police) went to my mum's house. They were looking for Ernest Gunar. They thought I raped her (the victim)."

He also told the jury he did not hand himself in because of fear and panic.

"They thought I raped someone I didn't rape. I panicked. I had never been in a situation like that," Gunar explained.

"I don't know what I was meant to do. I got scared that I'm going to get arrested for something I haven't done. I was just worried.

"I was running away because I was scared. I tried fleeing the country because the police are looking for me."

On arrest, Gunar told an officer he had not raped anyone and began to cry. He said he also maintained he did not know her true age.

When asked by his barrister why he had referred to her as "a slag", he replied: "I was so emotional. It wasn't me. I was angry. I didn't mean to."

Gunar also told the jury he initially thought he had been "set up" by his cousin in bringing the youngster to his caravan and maintained there had not been a plan for Horvath to do so.

Asked by Mr Manek how he felt about being charged and on trial, he apologised for "any pain" he had caused but reiterated not knowing the victim was underage.

"The words have not been invented about how I feel inside. It's bad, really bad," Gunar explained.

"But first of all I want to say I'm sorry to her family and to my family for causing any pain.

"I didn't want to do any harm but she lied to me about her age. She told me she was 19, gave me her date of birth, just changed the year.

"Kevin is a 26-year-old-man. I didn't think he would be with someone under 18. I take full responsibility as an adult because I should have seen she was underage.

"I am an adult and I should have been more wiser but I wasn't. I swear I didn't give her any drugs or alcohol. I gave nothing like that. I bought her food.

"They came to me randomly. They were outside my mum's house and they said they had nowhere to stay. I offered them to stay. I didn't take anyone into the caravan to rape them."

Referring to how he had been experiencing his own difficulties at the time and using the Samaritans helpline, Gunar continued: "I had no company for ages and then those two came around and said they had nowhere.

"I was happy for them to stay in the caravan. I was just trying to help them out and this is where I stand today."

It is the prosecution case that having been spotted in the supermarket car park by Horvath and Turtak, the victim was enticed into the Skoda with the promise of a cigarette and driven to Turtak's flat.

Once there, it is alleged Turtak gave her a drugs pipe to smoke, forced her to perform a sex act on him and then photographed her naked as she washed herself in his bath.

The jury was told at the start of their trial that Turtak​ admits taking ​an indecent photo, classed by police as level C - the least serious categorisation - but denies an offence of oral rape.

After Turtak’s flat, Horvath, from Dover and said to have worked at the port, took the girl to the caravan.

He denies one offence of sexual assault of a child but admits three charges of rape and one of assault by penetration.

Gunar​ denies assault of a child by penetration, sexual assault of a child, and two offences of rape. He has pleaded guilty to one charge of rape.

During cross-examination by prosecutor Hannah Llewellyn-Waters, Gunar denied he and his cousin were "passing on" the girl to each other while in his caravan.

"It wasn't like that," he told the jury. "He did stuff with her and so was I. I wasn't treating her as a prostitute, I wasn't treating her as a b***h."

Accused of "sharing" the girl, he then said: "We weren't treating her like a whore. She was a friend of his (Horvath). We slept together in a caravan."

He also refuted the prosecutor's suggestion he was laughing as he gave evidence about having sex with an underage girl, admitting he found it "disgusting and embarrassing".

"I am not a paedophile, I am not a child predator," Gunar asserted. "I never do things like that. She lied about her age."

And when accused of performing a sex act on the youngster, he retorted: "What am I? A dog? I've got standards."

Gunar is the last of the three defendants to give evidence.

At the end of Horvath’s cross-examination on Monday (June 2), Ms Llewellyn-Waters accused him of acting as a facilitator or "go-between" for his cousin and Turtak.

“You viewed her as trash, just trash to do with her as you please. You told her that she was not to leave, didn’t you?” she asked.

“No,” Horvath replied.

The trial, in which jurors have seen CCTV of the moment the girl was picked up at the supermarket as well as footage of her at a swimming pool with Horvath and Gunar, continues.