Description
Phil's brother Timothy Schofield was convicted of 11 sexual offences involving a child between October 2016 and October 2019, including two of sexual activity with a child, following a trial at Exeter Crown Court.
This is the mugshot of Phillip Schofield's brother Timothy after he was found GUILTY of sexually abusing a teen boy. ITV This Morning star Phil's brother Timothy Schofield was convicted of 11 sexual offences involving a child between October 2016 and October 2019, including two of sexual activity with a child, following a trial at Exeter Crown Court.
The 54-year-old, a civilian police worker from Bath, told the jury while giving evidence that he had watched pornography with the boy, whom he insisted was over the age of 16 at that time, and they had masturbated while sitting apart, but denied performing sexual acts on the teenager. The boy, who alleged the offending started when he was 13, told the jury he felt "emotionally blackmailed" by Schofield and "forced" to participate in sexual activity.
He said: "I felt that emotionally there was no escape from what we had to do and I felt that there was a tremendous amount of pressure and expectation for me to fulfil what was being asked and wanted." Giving evidence during the trial, the defendant told the jury he had been gay his "entire life" but had kept it "completely secret and hidden from everybody".
He described this as "incredibly difficult" and told the court he had struggled with mental health problems for years. The defendant wept as he was asked about phoning his famous brother before driving to his home in London.
He admitted searching for terms on a legal pornography website including "young boy teen sex" and "gay teen torrents", but insisted he believed this would return results showing men aged between 18 and their early twenties.
Schofield denied the charges but was convicted of three counts of causing a child to watch sexual activity, three of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, three of causing a child to engage in sexual activity and two of sexual activity with a child.
An NSPCC spokesperson said: "Child sexual abuse can have devastating and long-lasting impact on a person's life and Timothy Schofield's actions were deeply harmful. We hope that the young man he targeted is receiving all the support he needs to move forward with his life." The NSPCC urged adults who are concerned about a child to contact [email protected] and young people to call Childline on 0800 1111.