Driving examiner guilty of fondling

A DRIVING examiner was found guilty yesterday of fondling the breasts of four women as they took their driving tests. Clinton Hadley, 35, had denied indecently assaulting the women.

The recorder, Conrad Seagroatt QC, adjourned sentence at Oxford Crown Court until today, saying he wanted more time to consider the sentence.

'This was a clear case of sexual harassment - a man in a position of trust who took advantage of four women in a nervous state,' he said. 'This was not a trivial case of touching up. The consequences are significant and are something which I cannot ignore.'

Hadley, a father of two, of Great Barr, Birmingham, had been a driving test examiner for about four years.

Earlier, David Iles, for the prosecution, had said Hadley regarded the women as 'a happy hunting ground' while he was away from his home and family.

All four women passed their driving test, but each later complained that he had touched their breasts during their tests over an eight-day period last November when Hadley was on secondment to a test centre in the Oxford area.

The prosecution said he suggested to one of them she should remove some of her clothing if she was hot and asked another if she was wearing stockings or tights.

One of the women said the driving examiner told her: 'If you are nice to me I will be nice to you.'

Hadley maintained he told the woman to be gentle with him - a reference to her driving. He said there was nothing in his conduct which over-stepped the mark.