Pic: Ralph Clarke was found guilty of historic child sex offences
Crime reporter(wp/es):
101-yea r-old man is believed to have become Britain’s oldest convicted criminal after he was found guilty of a spate of historic child sex offences.
Retired lorry driver Ralph Clarke is facing a possible prison sentence after he was found guilty of 21 counts of abusing two girls in the 1970s and 1980s.
He also admitted nine charges which related to a young boy mid-way through his trial at Birmingham Crown Court.
On Friday, jurors at Birmingham Crown Court convicted Clarke who sat impassively as the unanimous verdicts were delivered.
He is due to be sentenced next week.
At the start of Clarke's trial, prosecutor Miranda Moore QC said the defendant, thought to be the oldest person to stand trial in a British court, was arrested after two of his alleged victims walked into a police station in August last year.
Before the case was opened by Miss Moore, Judge Richard Bond informed the jury there would be occasions when Clarke left the hearing without permission for personal reasons.
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