MICHAEL BRITTON

CRAWLEY MAN CONVICTED OF SEX OFFENCES INVOLVING TEENAGER

A man was found guilty last night of sex offences involving a boy who responded to messages he left on an Internet gay teen chatboard.Michael Britton, 51, was accused by police of grooming the Darlington youngster by buying him a £2,500 motor scooter, champagne and cake for his 16th birthday.Britton, a petrol pump attendant and artists' model in schools, also introduced him to a Darlington man, aged 48, with whom the boy had sex.After a five-day trial at Teesside Crown Court a jury found Britton guilty of indecent assault and two charges of taking indecent photographs of a child in May and June last year.He was found not guilty of rape and the prosecution offered no evidence on a second charge of indecent assault.The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the jury that Britton originally claimed he was 19.Father-of-two Britton, of Bewbush, Crawley, Sussex, was remanded in custody for sentencing later.Judge Tony Briggs excused the jury from further service for five years saying that they had been forced to listen to details that were "above and beyond the call of duty".