ROBERT GARDENER FROM KENSINGTON SENTENCED FOR CHILD ABUSE IN LIVERPOOL
A young girl's father intervened when he caught a man abusing his daughter, only for the offender, Robert Gardener, to attempt to blame the child for the incident.The 64-year-old predator, of Rocastle Close in Kensington, twice engaged in inappropriate behavior with the girl.
His initial attempt to cover up his actions involved claiming he was merely "just playing." However, his lies unraveled when the child's father directly observed the abuse.
Despite this, Gardener had the audacity to say that the young girl had provoked the incident.
Liverpool Crown Court heard that before the incident, another girl saw Gardener with his trousers and underpants down, standing near the victim.
Fiona McNeill, prosecuting, explained that this girl reported the sighting to her mother, who then discussed it with her partner, who confronted Gardener.
Gardener reassured the child's father that he was only "just playing" with the girl and that the eyewitness had not seen anything inappropriate.
The situation escalated during a second encounter when the child's father saw his daughter with her hand near Gardener's groin, moving down his trousers.
The girl reacted by pulling her hand away upon noticing her father.
The child's father, who has his own vulnerabilities, quickly took his daughter away from the scene.
The mother then spoke to her daughter again, asking for more details about what she had seen.
The girl revealed that she had seen Gardener standing over her with his genitals close to her face and told her mother she had put her hand down Gardener's trousers because he had asked her to.
She also pointed out on a drawing where she had touched Gardener, and police later confirmed that she stated Gardener had pulled his pants down in front of her.
Gardener was arrested but chose not to respond to the allegations during police questioning.
However, evidence in the form of screenshots showed Gardener admitting to a conversation with the child's father, in which he claimed he had been "messing around" with the girl.
Gardener, who had no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to two counts of causing or inciting a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity.
In a victim impact statement, the girl's mother described how her daughter's behaviour had worsened since the abuse, highlighting the lasting trauma caused by Gardener's actions.
