A PERVERT who was caught on camera sexually assaulting a schoolgirl in the street has been warned he could face a prison sentence after being convicted.

A jury at Bradford Crown Court took less than an hour to find 51-year-old Jerzy Gurajczyk guilty yesterday of the offence.

Prosecutor Tim Capstick had told how the 14-year-old girl, who was in her school uniform, was groped by Gurajczyk as she stood at a pelican crossing in the centre of Bradford on Valentine's Day last year.

The teenager, who was on her way to meet friends to go ice skating, was waiting for the green man at the crossing when she became aware of someone directly behind her.

The CCTV footage showed the defendant indecently assaulting the girl, who turned to briefly confront him before fleeing across the road and alerting passers by.

Police were informed and officers working in Bradford were issued with a still photograph of the assailant from the CCTV.

Five days after the assault, a police community support officer spotted Gurajczyk wearing the same two tone jacket he had been dressed in at the time of the assault, and he was arrested.

Gurajczyk told police he was in the city centre at the time of the assault but was not responsible for the offence. He maintained his innocence before the jury, of six men and six women, after pleading not guilty to sexual assault.

His solicitor advocate, Anne-Marie Hutton, said there was no dispute the girl had been sexually assaulted by a man, but her client continued to deny it was him.

The jury unanimously found him guilty. He stood with his hands clasped in front of him and showed no reaction as the verdict was announced.

The court heard the defendant had only one previous conviction, for theft.

Miss Hutton asked for the case to be adjourned for a pre-sentence report by the probation service.

Judge David Hatton QC agreed to adjourn sentencing until February 11 and granted Gurajczyk bail on condition that he does not contact, directly or indirectly, the girl.

Judge Hatton told him: "You have been found guilty of the offence of sexual assault. That verdict triggers the notification provisions of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, otherwise known as the sex offenders register. You must sign a document acknowledging your obligation.

"I am going to adjourn sentence in order to obtain a report from the probation service so that I can find out more about you before determining the appropriate sentence.

"You must not assume from the fact that I am adjourning sentence, or from the fact that I am releasing you on bail, that that is any indication of the likely sentence. You must not assume that it means that a prison sentence will not follow."

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