Basingstoke man convicted of indecent assault with a child faces jail term (From Basingstoke Gazette)
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Basingstoke man convicted of indecent assault with a child faces jail term
9:09am Tuesday 26th February 2013 in Local By Chris Gregory
A MAN from Basingstoke is facing a possible jail sentence after being found guilty of indecently assaulting a young girl more than 30 years ago.
Stephen Warner, 58, of Trini-dad Close, Popley, was convicted of two counts of indecent assault and one count of indecency with a child after a one-week trial at Winchester Crown Court.
One count of indecent assault covered multiple attacks on the girl between January 1, 1975 and January 1, 1984.
The trial heard the victim could not remember the precise dates of the attack because she was so young, but thought that they occurred when she was between the ages of seven and nine.
The charge of indecency with a child related to a single off-ence during the same period, while the second indecent ass-ault charge took place when the victim was 17.
All the offences took place in addresses in Basingstoke.
The jury found Warner not guilty of rape, and could not reach a verdict on a third count of indecent assault.
During the trial, the jury watched a recording of an interview with the victim, and she later answered questions from barristers from the witness box.
Opening the case, Timothy Moores, prosecuting, said the victim did not want to make a formal complaint at the time, but changed her mind and contacted the police last year.
He said: “In cases like these, it’s far from unusual for people to wait a long time before they feel able to tell, or before they feel able to make, a formal complaint to the police and make an accusation against somebody.”
Warner had denied all of the charges, and his partner, Christine Wiggerham, gave evidence, defending Warner’s character.
The jury of six men and six women took seven hours and 38 minutes to reach their verdicts, which they made by a majority of 10 votes to two.
Judge Guy Boney told Warner a custodial sentence may be “quite unavoidable”.
He adjourned sentencing for the publication of a pre-sentence report, and granted Warner conditional bail.
