Man accused of abduction is acquitted
A MAN accused of trying to abduct a three-year-old boy by enticing him away from his mother has been acquitted.
David Havard, 26, denied trying to encourage the boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, to race him and denied saying: “Come with me. I’ve got a present in my bedroom for you”.
Prosecutors said the defendant managed to “entice” the child to follow him and the mother had to chase him.
The mother told Havard’s trial she was “uneasy” about what happened and later called the police.
The alleged incident took place on a piece of open land in Bridgend on the evening of Saturday, June 30.
Havard, who suffers from a borderline learning difficulty and has an IQ of 72, said he only wanted to play with the boy and offered to give him a toy lightsaber.
Jurors returned a not guilty verdict at Cardiff Crown Court yesterday following a two-day trial.
Despite being found not guilty Havard was made subject to a restraining order preventing him from contacting or approaching the boy and his family and from attending their home address.
Judge Neil Bidder QC told Havard, of Greenacres, South Cornelly: “You don’t go near them or contact them in any way.
“If you do you are liable to a term of imprisonment. It’s in your interest.”