A MAN said he was like a 'lamb to the slaughter' when he was taken to his alleged rapist's parents home when he was a child.

The alleged victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told Teesside Crown Court how he was raped on two occasions by Christopher Todd when he was aged ten or 11.

The impact of his ordeal was brought into sharp focus when he bumped into his alleged abuser while shopping with his mother and a fight broke out.

Christine Egerton, representing Todd, asked the complainant why he had delayed making the allegations to police and then not being able to accurately detail the timing of the attacks, during her cross examination of the witness.

He replied: "It was a traumatic experience and the fine details are difficult to recall, the events that happened to me are a bigger matter to me."

Miss Egerton asked whether the any discrepancy in his age at the time of the alleged assaults was a deliberate act.

The witness replied: "It makes no difference to me how old I was – it's about the impact it had on my life.

"Whatever age he was was of no concern to me."

Miss Egerton said during his police interview the complainant had told officers he didn't care if his alleged attacker was dead or how long he would be jailed.

"That's right, I don't care whether he dies or goes to jail I just want to get on with my life," he said.

"I don't care whether he is charged as a child or an adult – I'm just here to tell the truth and get some closure. I just want people to believe what I say as it is true."

The defence barrister then quizzed the witness about the location of the alleged attacks in her client's childhood home.

He told the jury that he was raped on two different occasions whilst in Todd's bedroom after he had gone in there to play videogames.

When asked about the second occasion, he replied: "I just walked in there like a lamb to the slaughter."

The alleged victim's mother told the court how her son had broken down in tears as he told her about what happened to him as a child.

She said the truth came out over Christmas in 2017 more than a decade after the alleged attacks.

Todd, 31, of Grangeside, Darlington, has pleaded not guilty to eight charges including two of rape, sexual activity with a child and indecent assault.

The trial is expected to last for five days.