B&B Indecent Assault Trial
B&B man: my shock at claim of sex assault
A RETIRED naval engineer has told a jury of the moment child abuse allegations were made against him - and said: "I was astounded."
Christopher Dance, now 65, is said to have indecently assaulted a four-year-old girl when he ran a bed and breakfast in the Nineties.
It is alleged Mr Dance was playing on a computer with the youngster when he asked her to undress, laid her on a bed and carried out the attack.
The girl was the daughter of a guest at the B&B establishment, in Pearl Street, Saltburn, east Cleveland.
A jury at Teesside Crown Court heard yesterday that Mr Dance and his wife, Jenny, took in "a transient population" when the tourist trade was quiet.
The vast majority of their guests were people on probation or those the local council wanted rid of, said Mr Dance.
He told the court that one resident was a suspected sex offender and suggested he may have carried out the attack on the girl.
Mr Dance said he was not suggesting the youngster lied about what had happened to her, but insisted he was not responsible for the assault.
He also told the jury that the man was evicted from the B&B when he and his wife learned of the allegations against him, in the mid-Nineties.
Asked by his barrister, Richard Bennett, if he would allow someone with a conviction or allegation of child abuse to stay there, Mr Dance replied: "Absolutely not. I have got two girls. You must be kidding."
He said hundreds of children stayed with the couple during the time they ran the establishment, but the pair gave it up "when the council were sending worse and worse people".
Mr Dance said his wife spent a lot of time with the youngsters, but he did not.
"I'm not very good with kids and families, as I've always been in male-dominated areas, like with the subs in the Navy," he said.
He added: "What she said might have happened, but it certainly was not on my watch. I know that I would not do something like that, but there were other elements in the house.
"I was first aware of the allegation when a policeman knocked on my door just before Christmas - I was astounded."
Mr Dance, of Skerries Close, Redcar, denies a charge of indecent assault.
The trial continues today.
5:01am Friday 23rd November 2007
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