A driving instructor took hold of a 20-year-old woman pupil's hand during a lesson, placed it on his crotch, it was alleged on Wednesday (October 12).

The woman told a jury at Gloucester Crown Court: "I was really freaked. I was stuck in the car with him and I didn't know where I was or what to do."

She was giving evidence against instructor Juma Kagwa, 47, of Horsefair Street, Charlton Kings, Cheltenham, who denies three charges of touching the woman sexually during the course of a driving lesson on August 15, 2021.

At one stage during the two hour lesson the woman, now 21, was so worried that she texted a friend saying she feared she was going to be raped, the jury at Cirencester Courthouse was told.

Prosecutor Neil Treharne said the alleged offences happened just days before the woman was due to take a driving test and she had enlisted Mr Kagwa's help after her previous instructor retired and it was hard to find another one because of the Covid restrictions.

The woman was a shy person who had difficulty making eye contact with other people and she had become concerned that Mr Kagwa had become 'more and more personal' with her during her lessons, he said.

"His behaviour became a concern to her - it was unsettling," said Mr Treharne. "During lessons his conversation started to become smutty. He once told her 'I like your body and I like your voice.'

"He was saying he wanted to be friends with her after the lessons and when she has passed her test. He asked her about her personal relationships and said 'Why don't you try a guy like me.'

He also said he liked 'bigger girls' such as her and asked if she liked big men like him.

His disconcerting behaviour towards the woman all came to a head during the lesson of August 15, said the barrister.

The first offence during the lesson was when Mr Kagwa touched her left leg with his right hand as she drove, he said.

"He started rubbing his hand up and down over her jeans and across and down the inside of her thigh, using his open palm.

"He went down towards her knee and right up towards her groin. He was telling her while he did this that he was just trying to calm her down.

"Then he said: 'Do you want to try me?'

She replied 'I don't, no.' She felt really uncomfortable at this stage, but she didn't want to say anything to annoy him."

Mr Treharne said the instructor then told her to pull over into a layby and he got out of the car and took the magnetic driving school sign off the car roof.

"She became very scared. She couldn't understand why he did that. She was panicking.

"He told her to drive to Crickley Hill (a country park near Cheltenham). It is a local beauty spot with a car park.

"He instructed her where to park there. He then took the keys out of the ignition and walked around to her side of the car. He opened the door and asked her to get out and go for a walk with him.

"These are not the actions of any normal driving instructor.

"She was feeling very nervous, and she refused to go with him. She thought the worst might happen. She thought she could have been raped.

"She did not want to get hurt and she was afraid to follow him. She stayed in the car while Mr Kagwa went for a walk.

"She then sent a desperate Snapchat message to a friend saying 'Help, I think I'm going to get raped.'

Mr Treharne said Mr Kagwa returned to the car and as she drove away from the country park he put his arm around the back of her and rubbed her back.

"He moved his hand across her shoulders, squeezing her skin through the top of her jacket. She could feel this through her clothing. "

Mr Treharne said the woman drove back to her home street. She felt angry and worried and she grabbed her bag and left, telling him she did not want his advances and adding 'I don't want to do any of that.'

She later texted him saying she did not want any more lessons from him and she blocked him on her phone, said the barrister.

However, he alleged, Mr Kagwa continued trying to contact her by WhatsApp and he approached her in the street as she walked to work the next day.

When she got into work she broke down, added the prosecutor.

Mr Kagwa was later arrested and denied all the woman's allegations, said Mr Treharne.

In evidence, the woman said that during the incident when Mr Kagwa had taken the driving school sign off the car he had got back in and grabbed her hand.

"He was rubbing my hand and then he put my hand on his crotch area. I tried to pull my hand away, but he wouldn't let me go. He said things like 'You make me really hard.'

The woman was tears as she told the jury "I was uncomfortable, I was really freaked. "

The trial continues.