Man, 63, assaulted young girl in pool at Rantzen's home

founder Esther Rantzen.

Jurors at Guildford Crown Court, Surrey, returned ''guilty'' majority

verdicts on two of four charges facing Robert Gillings, 63.

The retired British Airways engineer had denied all four counts of

indecent assault, two of them relating to incidents last summer at the

television presenter's home in the New Forest, Hampshire.

The allegations were made by the girl's mother after they were joined

by Gillings, a family friend, and his wife, Cynthia, during a holiday at

the house.

Neither That's Life! presenter Ms Rantzen -- who set up ChildLine to

help abused children -- or her husband, TV documentary maker Desmond

Wilcox, were present at the house at the time the offences occurred.

Earlier, Gillings was cleared of sexually abusing the child in the

changing room near the pool. Judge John Bull then sent the jury back out

to deliberate over the other three counts.

They returned to convict Gillings of one of two charges relating to

incidents prior to the New Forest trip, and another charge relating to a

sexual assault while he played a game of tag with the girl in Ms

Rantzen's pool.

Gillings was granted bail until he is sentenced on July 29.

During the three-day trial, Gillings, of Addlestone, Surrey, had

claimed that ChildLine and Ms Rantzen must have put ideas into the

little girl's head.

After the case, Ms Rantzen said her home, which on occasion was used

as a holiday home, had been tainted by the incident.

''My daughter suggested we should get an exorcist,'' she said. ''It is

a happy place for us, or has been. I feel that this place which my

family and I have loved, and these children have loved, has indeed been

blighted.''

Ms Rantzen did not sit through any of the trial but Mr Wilcox, and her

16-year-old daughter Emily, supported the victim's family throughout the

evidence last week.

Ms Rantzen answered the claim by Gillings that she had ''put ideas''

in the mind of the victim.

''It is an appalling accusation. There is absolutely no way I could

ever put these thoughts into a young child's head.

''He didn't just blame me -- he blamed the child, the child's parents,

and later the police and the social workers,'' she added. ''I have to

say that child abusers are desperate and ruthless people.''

The assaulted girl's mother had sobbed as she told the court how she

and Cynthia Gillings, who have three grand-daughters by their two sons,

were sitting by the pool and her husband was preparing a barbecue when

her daughter cried out.

''She shouted out, 'Mummy, Uncle Bob keeps putting his hands under my

bikini bottoms and I don't like it, and he won't stop','' she had told

the court.

The distraught woman added: ''I tried to pretend I had not heard what

she had said . . . I kept thinking: 'Just be normal, do not respond,

carry on the day'.

''We were all pretending not to hear what she was saying. Bob just

looked at me and smirked,'' she added.

The court had heard from two doctors who examined the victim and said

she had old tears to her hymen, suggesting she had been assaulted.

After the verdicts, the victim's grandfather sobbed uncontrollably and

had to be led from the court by relatives.

The girl's father said: ''We are satisfied with the verdict, we just

want to rebuild our lives with our children.''

Prosecutor Susan Tapping last night said the maximum sentence Gillings

could receive for indecent assault was 10 years but any jail term would

depend on psychiatric reports to the court.

Discussing the condition of the little girl, she said: ''I believe

some counselling is intended. I know she had an early birthday party

this weekend before school breaks up and I believe it went well.''