Man convicted of child sexual abuse faces prison

Summarised from Colchester Gazette's report · Updated 9 Oct, 07:00 · Archive

A 39-year-old man has been convicted of sexually assaulting a child after a jury rejected his defence.

Robert Longhurst, 39, of Page Road, Clacton, has been convicted on all charges of sexually assaulting a girl at Chelmsford Crown Court. He told the child he was carrying out a medical examination before abusing her. A witness walked into a room and saw Longhurst sexually abusing the child; Longhurst told them off for not knocking and said he was performing a medical examination.

The defence alleged the victim had colluded with someone else and that their evidence was not based on independent recollections. The court heard that the victim told a counsellor she was unsure whether the allegations were true and doubted herself because she did not want what happened to be true. However, the victim maintained she clearly remembered the act itself. After deliberating for five hours and 46 minutes, the jury unanimously convicted Longhurst of engaging in sexual activity with a girl and sexual assault on a female. Longhurst has been remanded in custody and will be sentenced on 11 November.

Read the report

• Man faces lengthy prison term after child sex abuse convictionA man who abused a girl faces years in prison after a jury convicted him on every charge.Colchester Gazette · 9 Oct, 05:00

In this story: Robert Longhurst · Chelmsford Crown Court · Clacton

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