A 22-year-old man has faced a court charged with the rape of a 14-year-old girl at the weekend.

Jonathan Simpson, of Brandywell Road, Derry, is charged with raping the girl in his home on Friday night last.

He also faces a charge of false imprisonment.

A PSNI detective told Derry Magistrates’ Court today that he could connect the accused to the charges.

The detective told the court the alleged incident was reported to police by the alleged victim’s mother on Saturday afternoon.

Under cross-examination by defence barrister, Eoghan Devlin, the detective told the court the accused voluntarily handed himself over to police at Strand Road later that day while police were in the process of making arrangements to go look for him.

The court heard the accused said the sex act was consensual and he believed the alleged victim was over 17 years of age.

Simpson was remanded in custody to appear at Derry Magistrates Court this Friday following the adjournment of a bail application,