A JURY are currently considering the verdict of a man accused of raping a Darlington teenager.

Saman Osmanzadeh, 31, from Bishop Auckland appeared at Teesside Crown Court today, where the trial is due to be concluded.

Osmanzadeh is charged with rape after a 19-year-old said she woke up naked in bed with no recollection of how she got there.

During the trial Osmanzadeh threw away his right to give evidence after five times refusing to answer a question from his own barrister about his previous convictions.

He also refused to answer questions from the prosecution earlier in the trial.

Today he also refused to allow his defence barrister to make a closing speech.

Prosecuting for the case, Christine Egerton in her closing statement, said: "In this case we know that the defendant refused to be questioned. He wouldn't answer the questions. We're going to hear the questions I would have asked him, had he been prepared to answer questions and expose himself to scrutiny."

Earlier in the trial, jurors heard how the defendant picked up the teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, in Darlington before driving her to Bishop Auckland where he allegedly raped her.

CCTV footage showed the young woman leaving a pub in Darlington town centre to get a taxi but it pulled away just seconds before she reached the car after waiting for more than five minutes for his customer.

Moments later she walked across the road and got into Osmanzadeh's Nissan Micra.

The court heard the defendant then took her to Bishop Auckland where he is accused of raping her before driving her back to her friend's house in Darlington.

Ms Egerton continued: "When he was sitting in his car in the early hours, what was on his mind when he was making searches on the internet of 'escort slut'.

"When you saw him driving round the block why did he wait at the junction, did he see [the 19-year-old] as she crossed the road, did he watch her as she crossed the road. Did he notice that she appeared not 100 per cent?"

Osmanzadeh has denied the allegation, telling police that it was consensual.

The trial continues.