The paedophile brother of TV presenter Phillip Schofield has been jailed for 12 years after being convicted of child sex offences.
Timothy Schofield (54) was convicted of 11 sexual offences involving a child between October 2016 and October 2019, including two of sexual activity with a child, after a trial at Exeter Crown Court in April.
Schofield, a civilian police worker from Bath, England, told the jury while giving evidence that he had watched pornography with the boy who he insisted was over the age of 16 at the time.
He claimed they had masturbated while sitting apart and denied performing sexual acts on the teenager.
However, the jury found Schofield guilty on all counts with a majority of 10-2 after more than five-and-a-half hours of deliberation.
Avon and Somerset Police later dismissed Schofield, who had been suspended from his job at the force’s headquarters in Portishead after being arrested and charged, without notice.
Mrs Justice Cutts, sentencing Schofield at Bristol Crown Court on Friday, told him: “You exploited his innocence at this stage of his life for your own sexual gratification.
“It was wrong on every level for you to behave as you did.
“He felt forced to do what you wanted, trapped and unable to escape. He felt he couldn’t tell anyone and did not do so for many years.
“You took away his ability to be the teenager he should have been – carefree, relaxed, happy. It is clear to me that you became utterly obsessed with him.”
The judge commended the courage of the boy for reporting the abuse.
In a victim personal statement read to the court by Robin Shellard, prosecuting, the boy said he felt “numb to life” following the abuse.
He said: “Before Tim was arrested, I felt I had no freedom. I often felt panic, stress and fear. I felt like I was trapped in a loop of fear and anxiety of the abuse happening again.
“It was only after Tim was arrested that I felt safe. It was only after Tim was arrested that I felt free – free to be me, free to be happy, free to be relaxed.”
The boy added: “I feel more blunt, I feel more bitter, I feel numb to life. I know I should feel really happy or really sad but I don’t have the ability to emotionally react to what is happening.”
During the trial, jurors heard that Schofield told his elder brother Phillip in September 2021 that he and the complainant had watched pornography together.
In a statement released by his lawyer after the guilty verdict, the This Morning host said: “My overwhelming concern is and has always been for the wellbeing of the victim and his family. I hope that their privacy will now be respected.
“If any crime had ever been confessed to me by my brother, I would have acted immediately to protect the victim and their family.
“These are despicable crimes, and I welcome the guilty verdicts. As far as I am concerned, I no longer have a brother.”
Timothy Schofield was convicted of three counts of causing a child to watch sexual activity, three of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, three of causing a child to engage in sexual activity and two of sexual activity with a child.
