RAILWAY worker Antoni Imiela, the man accused of being the Trophy Rapist, is planning to plead not guilty, Maidstone Crown Court was told today.

Anne Phillips, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said Mr Imiela, 48, had indicated that he would deny nine charges of rape on women and young girls in the south east of England.

Mr Imiela spoke twice during the five-minute hearing. When asked to confirm his name, he replied: "I am." When Judge Andrew Patience, QC, asked if he understood, he said: "Yes."

German-born Mr Imiela, of Heathside, Appledore, near Ashford, is accused of raping a 10-year-old girl in Ashford on November 15 last year.

He is also accused of raping a girl in Bracknell, Berkshire, a woman in Redhill, Surrey, a woman in Putney, south west London, and a woman in Woking, Surrey, in July this year, a woman in Wimbledon, south west London, and a woman in Epsom, Surrey, in August, a girl in Woking in September and a girl in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, in October.

Judge Andrew Patience, QC, has ordered that no photographs, images, or E-Fits of Mr Imiela should be published until further notice.