The mother of a girl who claims Coronation Street star Michael Le Vell raped her broke down in tears as she described the moment her daughter told her about the alleged abuse, a court heard.
Le Vell, 48, who plays car mechanic Kevin Webster in Coronation Street, is facing 12 charges in all - five counts of rape, three of indecent assault, two counts of sexual activity with a child and two of causing a child to engage in sexual activity.
The victim's mother sobbed as she relived the moment when she heard about the allegations for the first time. She told Eleanor Laws QC, prosecuting, that her daughter said: "I just remember all the times he (Le Vell) raped me."
She said her daughter spoke about the alleged abuse after attending a self-help conference and that her daughter was 'very calm' and told her that she remembered the alleged attacks 'all the time'.
The woman, who cannot be identified, broke down in the witness box and shakily took a drink of water before carrying on.
Asked by Ms Laws what she thinks happened to her daughter, she replied: "I believe he (Le Vell) had molested and abused her on a regular basis and there have been a number of rapes."
The girl's mother described how she went to Le Vell and confronted him after her daughter told her of the alleged abuse. She told the court she said to Le Vell: "She's made an accusation. You raped her when she was younger."
She told the court: "Before I finished that sentence he said, 'Oh you are joking! This is a joke! It's a joke! You are having a laugh!'... He never asked what she said."
She said her daughter later told her how Le Vell used a teddy bear against her mouth while raping her and he would force the girl to give him oral sex.
The witness said: "In the car she said, 'It's happened a lot more than I'm making out Mummy. It's a lot worse.'
She said, Mummy, you don't want to know.'"
