Jury retires in sex attack trial

A jury has retired to consider its verdict on a convicted murderer who is accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl in 2004.

David Lant, 61, from Norwich, is accused of attempted rape and sexual assault while on day release from jail.

He denies the charge that he attacked the girl while serving a life sentence for murder at Hollesley Bay open prison, in Suffolk.

The jury at Ipswich Crown Court, in Suffolk, retired on Friday.

'Girl consented'

Jurors were told that Lant was given a life sentence for murder in 1977.

The girl, now 18, told the court that Lant had assaulted her in a caravan at Thurston, Suffolk, in October 2004.

Lant said the girl agreed to take part in sexual activity.

The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said he threatened her with a knife and she was frightened.

"He was threatening me and I was crying and he touched me without my consent," she said.

Prosecutors told the court that Lant was nearing the end of his sentence and was leaving prison to work in a hostel in Ipswich to help him re-integrate into society.