Man has been cleared of sexually abusing a 90-year-old woman with dementia after he was caught kissing her legs

The jury at Preston Crown Court took just over five hours to find Colin Sebastian Gibbs, 62, not guilty of the offence.

During the trial, Mr Gibbs, of Luxborough Street, London, admitted he had kissed the woman’s legs but denied it was sexual.

Mr Gibbs, who has Asperger’s syndrome, insisted he was simply being affectionate when he was seen by a carer kissing the pensioner’s shin and thigh in the bedroom of her home.

He later said he was kissing her in sympathy at her treatment and to praise her for her efforts to move her legs off the bed.

Closing the case, Mr Gibbs’ lawyer Russell Davies, defending, said: “This is not a teenage boy, this is a man with no previous convictions.

“This is the first time in this defendant’s life he has been accused of any crime, let alone one of a sexual nature.

“He is not the sort of man who would do this for the purpose of sexual gratification.”

The woman, who can not be identified for legal reasons, suffered a number of health problems, including dementia and was therefore unable to consent to any sexual activity.

But Mr Gibbs told the jury: “What happened was not for sexual gratification.”

Mr Davies described the case as 'odd and peculiar' but said while Mr Gibbs’ behaviour may have been inappropriate, it was not criminal.

Mr Gibbs maintained his not guilty plea to the charge of sexual activity with a person with a mental disorder impending choice.

Family and friends who had supported him through the trial wept as the jury foreman delivered the verdict.