Man found guilty of indecent assaults on young girl

Thursday 03 August 2017

A 37-year-old man has been found guilty of a series of indecent assaults on a young girl.

The twelve members of the jury in the Royal Court were split, but a majority of them found Paul Trevor Moore guilty of the charges against him: four counts of indecent assault and six of procuring an act of gross indecency.

Moore, who was defended by Advocate Sarah Dale, had maintained his innocence throughout the trial. Crown Advocate Richard Pedley, in his opening speech, described the case as one of "...a sustained period of sexual abuse on a young girl". 

"It is a simple but uncomfortable truth that he assaulted her," said Crown Advocate Pedley in his closing speech. "He sexually exploited her for his own needs. She was so young and so innocent, she didn’t realise what was happening and it took her a year to finally tell her mother what had happened. She knew it was something odd. She didn’t like it."

Mr Moore denied all the allegations. During her closing speech, his advocate, Sarah Dale, said he had never touched the girl, nor had he asked her to touch him or  "...never even attempted to procure her to do those things. There is no evidence of that whatsoever."

Earlier in the day, Royal Court Commissioner Sir Michael Birt had told the jury they could convict Moore even in the absence of evidence. "It is correct that this is a case of one person’s word against another’s, there is no supporting evidence. The fact that there is no supporting evidence does not mean you can't convict. It is entirely a matter for you, if you are sure she is telling the truth, to convict."

The 12 members of the jury, seven women and five men, were split on each count but a majority found Mr Moore guilty of the offences. He was remanded in custody shortly after the verdict. Sir Michael also advised him he was "subject to notification on the sex offenders' list" as a result of the guilty verdict.

He will be sentenced later this year.

A spokesperson for the NSPCC in Jersey commented on the verdict saying: “It is clear that Moore preyed on his victim’s age and vulnerability to carry out his appalling abuse of her. The young girl in this case has shown tremendous courage in speaking out about what happened and her bravery has helped bring her attacker to justice. Sexual abuse ruins childhoods and the impact can last a lifetime, but help for victims is available.

"Therapeutic services like NSPCC Jersey’s ‘Letting the Future In’ can help children who have been sexually abused move on in their lives. Any adult worried about the welfare of a child can call the NSPCC Helpline on 0808 800 5000, while children can call Childline on 0800 1111. For more information on Letting the Future In or any other NSPCC Jersey services or to support our work, visit the NSPCC website."