Timothy Schofield began abusing boy at 13, court hears

A boy accusing the brother of TV host Phillip Schofield of sexual abuse said he had told the truth, a court heard.

Timothy Schofield, 54, from Bath, is on trial at Exeter Crown Court charged with 11 child sexual offences.

He told his TV star brother in September 2021 about an incident but said it had happened after the boy reached 16 - the age of consent.

Robin Shellard, prosecuting, said evidence from the boy showed the abuse began much earlier when he was 13.

The offences allegedly happened between October 2016 and October 2019.

Timothy Schofield has denied performing sexual acts on the teenager and insisted the boy was aged over 16 when they watched pornography together and took part in a sex act while in each other's company.

Mr Shellard told the jury: "The question you must ask yourself, was this going on for some 18 months when he was just past his 16th birthday and finished by August 2021?

"Or was this going on for longer and quite deliberately?"

Mr Shellard said the boy's account had been "restrained".

"If the boy was making it up, if he was a person motivated by hate and spite, he could have made it much worse," he said.

"The problem for Mr Schofield is how restrained the boy is in his allegations.

"Is that person motivated by hate and spite or is he saying things about what happened?

"We say the evidence shows the boy is not motivated by hate and lies.

"This was a teenager who was criminally abused when he was 13, 14 and 15, and it is something that only came to an end when he was sure enough to deal with it," he added.

Timothy Schofield, an IT technician for Avon and Somerset Police, from Bath, denies three counts of causing a child to watch sexual activity.

He also denies three counts of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, three counts of causing a child to engage in sexual activity and two counts of sexual activity with a child.

Peter Binder, defending, said in a court of public morals Timothy Schofield would be guilty of the "gravest of crimes".

"We are not dealing with morals but criminal abuse against a child," he said.

"This case boils down to one person's word - that of the boy - against the other - that of the defendant."

Phillip Schofield has not appeared on ITV's This Morning this week and the studio said he was taking "pre-planned leave".

Mrs Justice Cutts has asked the jury to retire and to consider their verdicts on Monday.

The trial continues.

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