A teacher accused of murdering and sexually abusing a baby boy he was trying to adopt today denied using him as his 'plaything.'

Jamie Varley, 37, said there 'must be another explanation' for the serious injuries Preston Davey, 13 months, suffered before his death.

Experts have told the jury, sitting at Preston Crown Court, that bruises to the infant's throat and internal bruises to his pelvic organs were consistent with sexual abuse.

Varley is on trial with his boyfriend of eight years, sales representative John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32.

Both men deny charges of cruelty and sexual assault. Varley also denies murdering Preston, while McGowan-Fazakerley has pleaded not guilty to allowing the death of a child.

Peter Wright, KC, prosecuting, suggested that Varley had sexually abused Preston twice in four days but, on the day he died, went 'too far' and caused Preston to 'perish' and die.

The barrister also suggested that pictures and video of the tot struggling for breath and unresponsive in his cot, which were found later by police on his mobile phone, were 'trophies' of the attacks.

'This little boy was your plaything, wasn't he? Mr Wright said.

Varley replied: 'You are wrong.'

Mr Wright said: 'And you routinely abused him for your own amusement and gratification?'

Varley responded: 'You are wrong, incorrect.'

Mr Wright went on: 'All of this in the space of less than four months. It went from him coming into your home and leaving it dead, didn't it?'

'He did pass away in our care,' Varley accepted.

The court has heard that Preston was removed from his birth mother aged five days, placed into the care of Oldham Council and lived with foster parents for the first 10 months of his life.

He was placed with Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley, at their home in Blackpool, in April 2023, but visited hospital three times, including once with a broken elbow, before his death on July 27.

No safeguarding issues were raised in that time by doctors, health visitors or social workers over the four-month period.

Varley claimed that, on the afternoon of July 27, he had been bathing Preston when he nipped away from the bathroom to get changed and came back to discover the infant under the water.

But a post-mortem found 40 separate injuries, including more than 20 external bruises, and concluded he died of an 'acute upper airway obstruction' not drowning.

Mr Wright suggested Varley's account was 'nonsense' and a 'cock and bull story' which he had fabricated to 'cover up' what he had done.

The barrister highlighted several inconsistencies between the account Varley gave to police immediately after Preston's death, comments captured on bodyworn footage from officers at the hospital and what he told the jury last week in his evidence in chief.

'You thought you would be able to cover it up as a drowning,' Mr Wright said.

'No, I would be more intelligent than that, Sir, if that was the case.' Varley replied. 'I genuinely felt he had drowned.'

Mr Wright suggested that Varley's 'apparent state of distress' at the hospital after being told Preston had died was a 'complete charade.'

Varley replied: 'That's not true.'

Mr Wright said: 'And your inability then to be able to settle and answer questions (from police) was because you were working overtime to come up with an explanation for what you had done to him?

'That is not true,' said Varley.

Mr Wright added: 'Buying time to try to think of a way out.'

Varley said: 'That's not correct.'

Varley denied telling a friend he had 'dark thoughts' about harming Preston but Mr Wright said that - by July - he had become 'increasingly desperate' about caring for the baby on his own while McGowan-Fazakerley was at work.

His abuse escalated from being cruel, to breaking his arm and eventually sexual abuse, the barrister said.

'Eventually, you have started to abuse him, the fractured elbow of the 5th and 6th of July, and the sexual abuse of him, that's true isn't it?' Mr Wright said.

'No, it's not,' Varley replied.

Varley, who was head of Year 11 at a comprehensive school in the Lancashire seaside resort, denies murder, manslaughter, two counts of assault by penetration, five counts of cruelty to a child, grievous bodily harm, sexual assault of a child, 13 counts of taking indecent photos or videos of a child, one of distributing an indecent photo of a child, to his co-accused, and one of making an indecent photo.

McGowan-Fazakerley denies allowing the death of a child, three counts of child cruelty and one count of the sexual assault of a child.

The trial continues.