CORNISH BARD LES MERTON CONVICTED OF CHILD SEX OFFENSES
A Cornish bard and author has been convicted of child sex abuse.The jury at Truro Crown Court found 70-year-old Les Merton guilty of all the charges he faced, crimes that took place over a period of more than 20 years.During the trial, Merton denied indecently assaulting girls as young as seven and committing acts of indecency.He was visibly emotional in court when he was found guilty.
The court was also informed that he had previously been cautioned by police in 2005 for accessing a website containing indecent images of children.The court heard that Merton, who was awarded the honour of being a Cornish bard with the name Map Hallow (Son of the Moors) in 2004, engaged in heinous acts.
He made victims watch pornographic versions of fairy tales and drink alcohol.
For instance, he showed a girl under 13 a pornographic adaptation of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.
He also played a game involving cards where the loser was prompted to carry out a sexual act, telling his victims: "This is our little secret - our special game."Furthermore, Merton claimed during evidence that he had been researching Rasputin online and accidentally accessed a site with indecent images, where he entered his credit card details "naively." He stated that he did not look at any images once he saw the thumbnails but was cautioned for the earlier offence.The jury found him guilty of 16 counts of indecent assault and four counts of indecency with a child, committed between 1983 and 2004.
The judge scheduled his sentencing for 21 January.
