THE former boss of an Oxfordshire children’s home has been convicted of sexually abusing boys during the 1970s and 1980s.

Rodney Smallman, of Erica Close, Banbury, was unanimously found guilty of 15 counts of indecent assault on boys yesterday at Oxford Crown Court.

The 72-year-old stared at the floor as the verdicts were read out. He was released on bail with an electronically tagged curfew to be sentenced on January 12.

The assaults took place between February 1976 and March 1983 and throughout the trial Smallman denied anything inappropriate had taken place.

Our top stories

He was cleared of a further five counts of indecent assault but was told by Judge Zoe Smith that he now faces a custodial sentence.

Requesting bail for her client, defence barrister Jennifer Edwards said: “The custodial threshold has clearly been passed in this case.

“And Mr Smallman does have previous convictions, but they were a very long time ago, and since he was released from custody no further matters have come to light.

“And, to put it bluntly, he has nowhere to abscond to.”

She added that Smallman has health problems including diabetes and high blood pressure, as well as having undergone triple bypass surgery.

Judge Smith said she would agree to release him on bail so a medical report could be prepared.

  • Do you want alerts delivered straight to your phone via our WhatsApp service? Text NEWS or SPORT or NEWS AND SPORT, depending on which services you want, and your full name to 07767 417704. Save our number into your phone’s contacts as Oxford Mail WhatsApp and ensure you have WhatsApp installed.