A PENSIONER accused of indecently assaulting an 11-year-old girl has been cleared of all charges.
Robert Bolton, of Duke Street, Askam, had been on trial at Barrow Crown Court charged with two counts of indecently assaulting a girl under 14.
On the first day of his trial on Monday, the jury had heard allegations that between January 1999 and January 2004 Bolton twice assaulted a young girl.
The alleged victim claimed that Bolton had plied her with sherry, which he called "go to bed pop", before touching her on intimate parts of her body.
However, defence barrister Mr Nicholas Clark said the alleged victim had a documented history of lying as a child and accused her of fabricating the allegations.
The 79-year-old defendant had strongly denied both charges and on the fourth day of the trial yesterday Bolton was acquitted.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here