THE trial has begun for a man accused of raping a 15-year-old boy he met through a gay dating app in a Northwich park.

Daniel Brinksman, of no fixed address but based in the town, appeared at Chester Crown Court on Monday as the first day of his trial started.

The court heard the 39-year-old faces six charges relating to incidents, which are alleged to have taken place in 2015. He denies them all.

Prosecuting, Maria Masselis told the jury the boy, who can’t be named for legal reasons, was struggling with his sexuality at the time.

Thinking he was the only gay person at his school, he downloaded dating app Grindr and began taking to a man called 'Daniel', whose profile described him as 28 years old.

It was heard Brinksman, who was allegedly told the boy's age, 'immediately' began suggesting to meet up which the youngster felt pressured to agree to.

Ms Masselis said the pair met up at a park in Northwich, but the boy had not wanted to engage in sexual activity.

“This defendant didn’t care whether he consented to engage in sexual activity or not,” said Ms Masselis.

The court heard Brinksman, who was then 30, allegedly put his hands in the boy’s trousers, before bringing him to a wooded area in the park.

Ms Masselis added further sex acts were carried out by Brinksman before he heard someone moving nearby, grabbed his clothes and ran away.

She said: "The boy said he was scared and disgusted at himself. His whole life changed.

"He suffered severe issues with his mental health after this incident."

In March 2022, the boy first told police about the alleged offences, and gave a formal interview in November, as he wanted to ‘protect other young males from going through the same thing’.

When questioned by police, Brinksman initially said he was not the person the complainant had been speaking with, and that it was ‘all made up’.

But this later changed when the 39-year-old admitted he had been speaking with the boy, but believed he was 18.

"The boy has given a very clear account of things in his interview, he told the defendant he was 15 and he didn’t want to engage in sexual activity," said Ms Masselis.

"Brinksman didn’t care whether he consented or not."

The trial continues.