A Waltham Abbey man has been found guilty by a jur

A Waltham Abbey man has been found guilty by a jury of
indecently fondling one of his daughter’s teenage friends.

Snaresbrook Crown Court had heard how married man Graham
Bird, 47, had offered to look after the timid 19-year-old when
she suffered a ‘panic attack.

‘
But Bird betrayed the trust she had placed in him and
indecently touched her after pulling her onto his lap while
they were alone in his Waltham Abbey home.

It took the jury just under three hours to find him guilty
of a single charge of indecent assault.

Bird, of Denny Avenue, Waltham Abbey, Essex, had denied the
charge.

Last month – unbeknown to this jury – Judge Gerald Gordon
discharged a jury when they were unable to reach a verdict.

Judge Gordon remanded Bird on bail until November 18 while
pre-sentence reports are prepared.

Prosecutor Miss Diane Pigot said that the ‘A’ level student
‘feared unfamiliar situations and areas’ and spent much of her
time at home.

Counsel explained that she occasionally suffers ‘panic
attacks’ in which she shakes uncontrollably and hyper-ventilates.

Bird had told her that in such an instance she could turn
to him if ever she found herself alone.

And on December 1 last year she had no one to help her
when she had an attack.

The defendant’s daughter was not in and when she got to
his home they were alone together because his wife was taking
a driving lesson, the jury were told.

Giving evidence the victim said she was seated on a sofa
when Bird knelt down and began rubbing her hands:
‘He was still kneeling down when he moved his hands on
my legs.

He was moving his hands up and down the outsides of
my legs.

I thought he was trying to comfort me.

‘
In a trembling voice she had recalled how Bird, kissed
her on the lips, pulled her onto his lap and touched her
indecently.

Bird was arrested on December 3 last year after the
teenager complained to her mother.

Giving evidence in the trial Bird told the jury that he
was ‘in control’ of himself while she sat on his lap.

He accused the girl of lying commenting that she had a
‘reputation’ and was trying to add him to her ‘experiences.

‘
Bird, a man of previous good character, said that if he
touched her private parts and breasts it was unintentional.

ends