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| Martin Smith Picture from BBC News |
A man whose partner is accused of murdering their two children has been found guilty of child sex abuse.
Martin Smith, 45, of Carlisle, had denied 11 counts of rape, attempted rape and indecent assault on his victim, who is now in her 20s.
But he was found guilty of the charges at Manchester Crown Court on Wednesday.
His partner, Lianne Smith, 44, is accused of killing their children Rebecca, five, and Daniel, 11 months, in a Spanish resort in May.
Smith, originally from North Shields, used hypnosis and violence to groom and sexually abuse the girl, the court heard.
Giving evidence via video link from Spain where she is being held in custody, Lianne Smith said she had never had any concerns about her partner of 18 years.
She said they had left the UK to "protect" their daughter Rebecca after social workers had "threatened" to take her away.
"We left to protect Becky, so... sorry, we left to protect her from Staffordshire Social Services," she said "and in particular to protect her from the social workers, who had a mission to take our daughter off us. They had already made that threat on the telephone, they retracted that in front of our lawyer, but they made that threat."
Smith, who appeared on television as a medium three years ago on the Living channel's Most Haunted programme, was warned by the judge that a long custodial sentence was inevitable.
He was remanded in custody for reports, and will be sentenced in February.
Speaking after the trial, Det Insp Kim Filton from Cumbria Police praised the bravery of the victim.
She said: "The impact this prolonged abuse has had on the victim is immeasurable, but the bravery she has shown and the trust she has put in us from the outset has been tremendous.
"Her strength has been brought to this point today and I hope this result will help her to move on and begin to put the past behind her."
From the BBC website
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