PMcClounie

Published at 01:00, Saturday, 29 July 2006

By Staff Reporter

A MAN has been warned to expect a long jail sentence after being found guilty of a string of sex offences against three Cumbrian schoolgirls.

Robert Dawes, 63, of The Headlands, Glenridding, had already pleaded guilty to five charges of indecently assaulting one of the girls.

And yesterday, after a month-long trial at Carlisle Crown Court, he was found guilty of eight more offences.

These included charges of attempted rape, indecent assault and gross indecency.

He was found not guilty of seven offences against three other girls, including the rape of one of them.

The verdicts, some of which were reached by a 10-2 majority, came after the jury had been deliberating for a total of nearly 15 hours.

During the trial Dawes said he had been waiting for the police to come for him ever since the mother of one of the girls found out years ago what he had done.

Dawes will be sentenced on August 24. Judge John Phillips warned him to expect “a significant and substantial custodial sentence.”

Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk