A MAN accused of grooming a young girl then having sex with her told a jury he had a testicle removed before the alleged offence took place.

Sanjay Soni told Bolton Crown Court he had been treated for cancer in 2011 and that since the operation he has not been able to have sex with his partner.

When police arrested him on December 20 2013 they found an iPhone and computer belonging to his family which contained naked images of the girl performing sex acts on herself.

Soni, of Faringdon Walk, Daubhill, told a jury that he did not engage in any sexual activity with the girl or exchange sexual images with her.

Soni said that he has not been well since chemotherapy treatment four years ago.

He said: "I can't have sex with my partner. Since the operation it has all gone downhill."

The court earlier heard how Sanjay Soni first met his alleged victim when she was aged six or seven.

His victim told the court that by Halloween 2013, when she was aged 15, he had had sex with her three times and she regarded 41-year-old Soni as her boyfriend.

Soni denies grooming, engaging in sexual activity with a child, inciting sexual activity with a child and possession of indecent images.

The case continues.