January 2007 Former Samaritans worker guilty of grooming a child A FORMER worker for the Samaritans who preyed on a 14-year-old boy after meeting him on a gay internet website is at risk of being jailed. Vincent Oakes made contact with the teenager, who lives in a village near Worcester, after he listed his age as 18 and called himself “sex god” in his profile. The victim turned to him for help because he was unable to explain his sexuality to his parents, Worcester Crown Court heard. Oakes met him secretly and the pair went to the defendant’s home in Park Street, Kidderminster, a number of times. A jury convicted unemployed 41-year-old Oakes of meeting a child following sexual grooming at the end of a three-day trial. He was cleared of one count of sexual acitvity with a child and the jury failed to reach a verdict on a second similar count. Judge Andrew Geddes gave the prosecution 14 days to decide whether to stage a retrial. He bailed Oakes who must now sign the sex offenders’ register. Prosecutor Neal Williams said the vulnerable boy became “drawn into an emotional dependance” on Oakes because he was the first person he could express his feelings to. “But he stepped over the line of a trusted and caring adviser. He knew perfectly well what he was getting into but couldn’t help himself,” he said. Mr Williams said there was a huge amount of contact between them and the boy’s view was that Oakes had become his boyfriend. The prosecutor added: “The laws exist to protect young people from themselves and from being taken advantage of by others.” Ian Speed, defending, claimed the sexual allegations were “a figment of of the imagination of a disturbed boy”. He insisted Oakes was not a predator but had been stupid and naive. He had only wanted to help the teenager.