This is Sussex -- A MAN with the IQ of a six-year-old has been cleared of sexually assaulting a young girl while she was baking a cake in his kitchen. Barry Kemp was charged with two counts of sexual assault against the child, who was 13 at the time, at a flat in Crawley Down. The 60-year-old, also known as Will, denied the charges and appeared at Hove Crown Court for a trial on January 22. He was accused of groping and kissing the child, who cannot be named for legal reasons, on August 31, 2011. Sarah Lindop, prosecuting, had told the court: "The victim was baking a cake when Barry Kemp came into the kitchen and, standing in front of her, groped her breast and squeezed it over her clothing, and also, at or around the same time, put his mouth over hers and kissed her. "These were offences against a young person and these were sexual offences, and there is no suggestion that she consented." The court heard how Kemp, of Woodland Close, Crawley Down, suffers from learning disabilities which meant the trial could not be held "in the traditional way" where he would be found guilty or not guilty. Instead Judge David Rennie tasked the jury with determining whether he deliberately touched the girl, whether the touching was sexual, whether he deliberately kissed her and whether that was sexual. The complainant, now aged 15, said she was in the middle of making a big cake when Kemp touched her in a "very uncomfortable way". "He put one hand behind my back and the other on my breast and squeezed it a couple of times," she added. "Then he opened his mouth like a whale and put it around mine. I pushed him away and said 'what are you doing?' and he said 'nothing'. "I felt scared and weird, because no one has ever done that to me before." The girl returned to her home later the same day, but did not tell anyone about the alleged incident until the following evening. Her mother, who also cannot be named, told the court: "When she returned home about 10pm she was not her usual self. "She went straight to bed without saying goodnight or giving me a hug. The next day she was still not herself and she eventually told me that Barry Kemp touched her. I was upset and almost in tears." Having heard the evidence, the jury went out at 3pm and returned with their verdict the following morning. They concluded that Kemp did not commit the acts, clearing him of the alleged crimes.
Reported by This is 16 hours ago.
This is Sussex -- A MAN with the IQ of a six-year-old has been cleared of sexually assaulting a young girl while she was baking a cake in his kitchen. Barry Kemp was charged with two counts of sexual assault against the child, who was 13 at the time, at a flat in Crawley Down. The 60-year-old, also known as Will, denied the charges and appeared at Hove Crown Court for a trial on January 22. He was accused of groping and kissing the child, who cannot be named for legal reasons, on August 31, 2011. Sarah Lindop, prosecuting, had told the court: "The victim was baking a cake when Barry Kemp came into the kitchen and, standing in front of her, groped her breast and squeezed it over her clothing, and also, at or around the same time, put his mouth over hers and kissed her. "These were offences against a young person and these were sexual offences, and there is no suggestion that she consented." The court heard how Kemp, of Woodland Close, Crawley Down, suffers from learning disabilities which meant the trial could not be held "in the traditional way" where he would be found guilty or not guilty. Instead Judge David Rennie tasked the jury with determining whether he deliberately touched the girl, whether the touching was sexual, whether he deliberately kissed her and whether that was sexual. The complainant, now aged 15, said she was in the middle of making a big cake when Kemp touched her in a "very uncomfortable way". "He put one hand behind my back and the other on my breast and squeezed it a couple of times," she added. "Then he opened his mouth like a whale and put it around mine. I pushed him away and said 'what are you doing?' and he said 'nothing'. "I felt scared and weird, because no one has ever done that to me before." The girl returned to her home later the same day, but did not tell anyone about the alleged incident until the following evening. Her mother, who also cannot be named, told the court: "When she returned home about 10pm she was not her usual self. "She went straight to bed without saying goodnight or giving me a hug. The next day she was still not herself and she eventually told me that Barry Kemp touched her. I was upset and almost in tears." Having heard the evidence, the jury went out at 3pm and returned with their verdict the following morning. They concluded that Kemp did not commit the acts, clearing him of the alleged crimes.
Reported by This is 16 hours ago.