A MAN has been cleared of sexually attacking a schoolboy after a trial at Burnley Crown Court.

The jury had heard claims that Kevin O’Connell had asked the alleged victim about his sexual experiences and had allegedly performed an indecent act on the teenager.

But Mr O’Connell said it never happened and, on Friday, was found not guilty.

The defendant, who has no criminal convictions and was represented by Joanna Rodikis, was discharged from the dock by Judge Simon Newell. Mr O’Connell, 65, of Long Causeway, Cliviger, had denied an allegation of indecent assault on a male person, said to have taken place more than a decade ago, during the five-day hearing.

The court had heard how, at the time of the alleged offence, Mr O’Connell had lived in the Burnley area with his two sons.

The hearing was told no complaint was made to the police until November 2012, when the alleged victim came forward and went to the police.

Prosecutor Elizabeth Nicholls had told the jury: “The defendant was only interviewed the following May and during the course of that interview, this defendant denied that he had ever sexually abused the alleged victim as described by him or at all.”