A man accused of sexual offences against three children 30 years ago told one boy not to tell anyone, a jury heard.

The alleged victim, who is now in his 40s, claimed Maqsood Asif, 58, of Queen Mary's Avenue, Watford, put on a pornographic film and asked him if he liked it.

In a video recorded interview played to the jury at St Albans Crown Court, the man said Mr Asif told him to take down his trousers and then sexually assaulted him.

Afterwards he said Mr Asif told him: “Make sure you don’t tell them.”

He alleged that Mr Asif also exposed himself to him.

Speaking about what happened to him, the man said: “Everything for years was fine, but the smallest trauma in life can open things and it all comes flooding back.”

Giving evidence today (Wednesday) via a police recorded interview, one woman, who is now in her 40s, said she was aged six when she was abused.

She said: “He told me to sit on the corner of bed and he lay down on top of me. His whole weight was on me.

“He touched me. His breathing was heavy. It was disgusting. I hated it.

“He told me: ‘Don’t tell your mum and dad. They will be angry with you.”

Mr Asif who is now 58, is alleged to have committed offences against the children when he was aged between 19 and 33 at locations in Watford.

He denies one charge of rape, seven counts of indecent assault, indecency with a male person and indecency with a child.

The court was told the charges involved three youngsters, a boy and two young girls who were aged between four and thirteen, when the offences were said to have been happening.

Prosecutor Wayne Cleaver said the victims are now middle-aged adults who had kept silent for years.

He said: “Each of these three are now adults, but the experience of what happened to them remained with them over the years and recently they have come forward to the authorities

“In the summer of 2018 events of the past began to unravel and these complainants to come forward and made complaints to the police.”

He said the first of the victims to tell her story to the police was a woman now in her late 30s, who told officers how on many occasions when she was aged between eight and 13 the defendant had intimately touched her.

She said he’d performed a sex act on her after taking her to his flat where he lived at the time in Marlborough Road in Watford.

She also told the officers how on one occasion she had been raped by the Mr Asif.

Mr Cleaver said following the woman’s account to the police two other alleged victims of Mr Asif were interviewed by Herts Police.

The jury heard that when arrested the defendant denied he had committed the offences on the children and says what they are claiming didn’t happen.

Case proceeding.