Timothy Schofield abused teen he became 'sexually obsessed' with, court told

A police worker abused a teenager multiple times after becoming "sexually obsessed" with him, a court has been told.

Timothy Schofield, who is the brother of This Morning presenter Phillip Schofield, is accused of carrying out a string of child abuse crimes in the Bristol and South Gloucestershire areas between 2016 and 2019.

The 54-year-old, who is from Bath, denies three counts of causing a child to watch sexual activity; three counts of sexual activity in the presence of a child; three of causing a child to engage in sexual activity and two of sexual activity with a child. He is currently on trial at Exeter Crown Court.

The jury has heard Timothy Schofield confessed to his brother about something he had done, including that he had "watched porn and w****d" with the teenager.

After the Crown opened its case, trial judge Mrs Justice Cutts told the jury Phillip Schofield's celebrity status has "no relevance at all in this case".

Speaking to the jury, Mrs Justice Cutts said: "His brother is Phillip Schofield. He happens to be a well-known TV personality.

"I say ‘happens to be’ as that fact has no relevance at all in this case. He is not coming to this court to give evidence."

The prosecution claim the defendant, who worked for Avon and Somerset Police, had a sexual interest in boys and young teenage boys and was "sexually obsessed" with the victim.

"This is a case about the obsessive sexual interest of the defendant in the complainant and the subsequent sexual abuse of that teenage boy over the years," said prosecutor Mr Robin Shellard.

The court heard Timothy Schofield encouraged the boy to watch pornography with him and carry out sexual acts together. Some of the pornography showed heterosexual sex, other sexual material with scenes of violence and some involving animals.

The abuse came to light after the victim spoke to counsellors and the police became involved.

Mr Shellard told the jury that in September 2021 the defendant phoned his brother and told him that "his head was a mess" and asked to see him.

He added: "Phillip described him as very angry and distressed. The defendant also told his brother he was impotent. He then said his brother would hate him for what he was about to say, Phillip said that he would not.”

Timothy Schofield then told his brother he and his victim "had watched porn and w*****d together".

The court heard Phillip Schofield replied "what did you just say?" and his brother told him it had happened "just once" before Phillip said: "That should never happen again."

During the conversation, Timothy Schofield insisted the boy had reached the age of consent and said it involved no physical contact.

The jury heard that when police examined Timothy Schofield's laptops and phone they found searches for "young teen box set" and "gay teen porn torrents".

The boy described Timothy Schofield as "evil and vile" adding that he had a "terrible temper".

He was interviewed by police after making a disclosure to a school counsellor.

He told police that Timothy Schofield’s abuse "felt really wrong" and that he felt he had been "blackmailed emotionally". He alleged Timothy Schofield performed oral sex on him on one occasion.

The boy said he and Timothy Schofield would be naked together at times Schofield "found pleasure and happiness in that" while it left him "feeling incredibly uncomfortable".

The complainant said in his police video that Timothy Schofield had tried to normalise his behaviour by telling him he had masturbated with friends when he was his age.

He said Timothy Schofield was never violent but was very persistent. He considered he was "very, very unpredictable" and he feared how he may react and felt there was no way out.

The boy told police Timothy Schofield was "obsessed at looking at men" in the videos because he was "wishing he was them". He added that it "felt really wrong, really uncomfortable".

He also said he was uncomfortable about watching adult pornography which was projected onto a wall and felt it was not right. He said: "It was never something I enjoyed, never something that was good."

The trial continues.