Philip Schofield’s brother was found guilty today of sexually abusing a teenage boy from the age of 13 for three years.
Timothy Schofield, 54, admitted to watching porn and masturbating with the schoolboy but claimed he did so only when the alleged victim was over the age of 16.
A jury today found, however, that he had begun sexually abusing the boy years before, including coercing him into performing sex acts on him.
Schofield, who is seven years younger than his famous sibling, pleaded not guilty but was convicted at Exeter Crown Court of 11 counts of sexual offences.
According to a witness statement Philip provided to the court, he told his TV star brother in September 2021 that he masturbated with the boy a year before.
The police IT technician from Bath had repeatedly blamed his actions on his’mental health struggles,’ implying that the complainant was ‘exaggerating’ what occurred.
Meanwhile, his defence lawyer claimed that while he was guilty of “the most serious crimes in the court of public morals,” he had not committed a crime.
But, in closing the prosecution’s case, prosecutor Robin Shellard stated, ‘We are not dealing with morals, but with criminal abuse against a child.’
‘There are good reasons why society – and we are all part of this society and the law that was founded because of society – does not treat those under the age of 18 and those under the age of 16 as full adults,’ he added.
Society tries to protect children both from adults who want to abuse them and from themselves.
Mr Shellard commented on the defendant’s claims of ‘exaggeration,’ saying, ‘The problem for Mr Schofield is how restrained the boy is in his allegations.
‘Is that person motivated by hatred and revenge, or is he speaking about what happened? We believe the evidence shows that the boy is not motivated by hatred or lies.’
Schofield was found guilty on three counts of causing a child to watch sexual activity, three counts of engaging in sexual activity in front of a child, three counts of causing a child to engage in sexual activity, and two counts of sexual activity with a child.
At a later date, he will be sentenced.
