AN Evesham teenager is facing a long term in custody after being found guilty of one count of raping a girl under 13.

Eric Griffith, aged 19, from Burford Road, was also found guilty by a jury of eight women and four men at Worcester Crown Court of two counts of attempted rape of a child under 13 and three of sexual assault. He was cleared of 13 other charges.

The offences came to light after one of the girls spoke up following a visit to their school by ChildLine, the child protection charity, which said children should have the confidence to speak out.

The jury heard that Google searches had been carried out on Griffith’s phone, which contained words including "rape" and "teen".

Griffith said sometimes the sites would "pop up" on his phone while he was looking at normal pornography websites, but he never actively looked for them. He claimed the girls had made up the allegations.

Judge Patrick Thomas told Griffith he faced a significant custodial sentence. He was remanded in custody and will be sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on Monday, December 23. A pre-sentence report was ordered.