A JURY was today considering its verdict in the case of a man accused of 15 charges of indecent assault on a girl under 13.

Terrance Saunders, 70, of St Michael’s Close, Feniscowles, is facing historic allegations of 14 counts of indecent assault, and one count of gross indecency, said to have been committed in the 1970s.

As the case was summed up on the sixth day of the trial yesterday, the jury was asked to reach a unanimous verdict.

Speaking at the start of the trial, the alleged victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the court how Saunders had ‘plagued’ her physical and mental health after subjecting her to a recurring pattern of assault, which included groping, and instructions to touch him.

She also said she was made to take part in games of strip poker.

She described Saunders, who was a former Scapa Dryers employee, as a ‘domineering and charismatic man who is overpowering and over-whelming as a person’, as well as being a heavy drinker. Saunders, who has been married for more than 50 years, later told the court that the allegations had been made last year because the victim and her partner wanted financial help from him.

He denied he had a drinking problem.

Summarising Saunders’ comments, Judge Heather Lloyd, sitting at Preston Crown Court, said: “He said that her husband scammed to get money, and that the allegatations were all lies and total rubbish.

“He said that he was devastated to receive the letters from the police and thought that the couple had been in financial difficulties for several years and had expressed her need for sums of £20,000 and £50,000.”

The jurors were sent home for the evening yesterday.

They were due to resume their deliberations today at Preston Crown Court.

Proceeding