Berkeley pensioner convicted of sexually abusing two young girls while giving them 'massages'

Philip Ebbs, 73, of Main Road, Woodford, near Berkeley, had denied touching either of the girls sexually but after a four-day trial at Gloucester Crown Court, a jury found him guilty of all four charges against him.

Ebbs asked for a two-week adjournment before sentence so that he could make arrangements for a new home for his dog.

But Judge Jamie Tabor QC refused and bailed Ebbs until tomorrow when he will sentence him.

During the trial the jury was told that the first of Ebbs' victims kept quiet for years about the sexual abuse she had suffered.

But when she heard that another girl had complained about Ebbs assaulting her sexually she reported what he had done to her several years earlier.

Ebbs was charged with three offences of sexual assault of one girl between October 2007 and October 2010 and one charge of sexual assault of the other girl between February 2012 and February 2014.

Prosecutor Julian Kesner said that both girls are now 16-years-old.  The first girl was aged between seven and 10 at the time of the alleged offences against her. The second girl was aged 12-13 at the time of the single alleged offence concerning her.

Mr Kesner told the jury that the second alleged victim had thought it 'a bit odd' that Ebbs would stroke her legs and feet openly in front of other people when they met.

"He did that to a lot of people," Mr Kesner said. "She didn't like it and she would make her excuses to avoid him massaging her."

But one day the girl was home alone from school feeling unwell and Ebbs turned up at the door, Mr Kesner said.

He alleged that Ebbs sat down on the sofa at the girl's home and watched TV with her - asking her to put her head on his lap.

"She did as she was told. She was 12-13 years old. He started stroking and massaging her back. But he didn't stop there. His hand moved under her clothing. She didn't say anything. His hand then progressed under her clothing to the side of her breast,” he said.

"She said his hand then properly went around it. At that point she got up and moved away, making her excuses. She went up to her bedroom and had no further contact with him. "

At that stage the girl did not tell anyone but later she spoke to a church youth leader and explained what had happened, Mr Kesner said.

As a result the girl's mother was told.  Word spread to the father of the other girl and he asked his daughter if anything untoward had ever happened to her.

She then revealed that years earlier Ebbs had tickled and massaged her arms and legs and that it didn't stop there, Mr Kesner said.

Ebbs had moved his hand inside her clothing and rubbed her breasts and private parts, he alleged.

"She was seven to eight years old when it happened and she was too young, she said, to appreciate that what he was doing was wrong.  But as she got older she realised it was wrong. She didn't say anything but decided to keep her distance from him.

"It was not her intention to tell anyone and she was going to let it go."

When Ebbs was interviewed he told police the allegations were a 'pack of lies.'

He said his father had been a football trainer and he had learnt how to do massages. He had given the girls massages but had not touched them sexually, he said.

In evidence Ebbs, a dad of three sons who have nine grandchildren, again refuted that he had done anything sexual during the massages.