Gloucester man, 77, guilty of sexually abusing 92-year-old woman

A man has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a 92-year-old with Alzheimer's disease in her own home.

Eric Barton, 77, of Barton Hill View, appeared at Gloucester Crown Court, sitting in Cirencester, today.

A jury found Barton guilty of five out of six charges of engaging in sexual activity with a woman with a mental disorder which impeded her free choice.

He will be sentenced on Monday 12 December at Gloucester Crown Court.

Barton was caught in the act of assaulting the woman after her daughter installed surveillance cameras in her home.

The offences were committed between February 1, 2022, and March 5, 2022.

The jury at Cirencester Courthouse found Barton not guilty of one charge of causing a person, with a mental disorder impeding free choice, to engage in sexual activity on March 5, 2022.

Prosecutor James Haskell explained during the trial that Barton had known the woman for some 10 years as he had been looking after her garden and doing odd jobs around the house.

He had been given a key to let himself in.

The woman's condition had worsened during the pandemic restrictions, the prosecutor said.

Medical experts in the field of dementia told the jury that one of the major signs that her Alzheimer's diagnosis was getting worse was the amount of flirting she was embarking on and the sexual references she was making.

The jury was also told that the woman had become quite skilled at masking the severity of her dementia to those around her, but specialists were able to see through this masquerade.

A consultant, who later examined the woman, concluded that she did not have the mental capacity to refuse any sexual advances.

In his police interview Barton stated that at the beginning of February he had given the woman a hug and claimed the woman had liked it.

Barton stated that over the coming weeks he began to fondle the woman on a regular basis, he said that she enjoyed this and in turn this evolved into sexual activity.

Lloyd Jenkins, defending Barton told the jury: "Barton could not reasonably have known that the woman was unable to refuse consent for sexual activity."

The court was told that Barton had been a law-abiding citizen for over 70 years. He has a heart condition and is currently in remission from cancer, the lawyer said.

Mr Jenkins concluded: "It seems that the woman was good at masking her dementia and that he was fooled by this."

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