Former BBC employee is convicted of indecently assaulting a woman while he worked for the corporation more than 30 years ago

  • Geoffrey Wheeler, 71, was convicted of indecently assaulting the woman 
  • The former BBC employee worked on the corporation's Open University output
  • He was sentenced to 50 hours community service and ordered to pay £500
  • He was also cleared of four further indecent assault charges in 1981 and 1982 
By Darren Boyle for MailOnline
Published: 18:30, 3 April 2017 | Updated: 18:56, 3 April 2017
A former BBC employee has been convicted of indecently assaulting a woman while he worked for the corporation more than 30 years ago.
Geoffrey Wheeler was found guilty of putting his hand up the victim's top and touching her breast.
Wheeler, of Hopkins Close, Milton Keynes, was cleared of a further four indecent assault charges, dated between May 1981 and September 1982.
Geoffrey Wheeler, 71, was convicted of indecently assaulting a woman while he worked for the BBC more than 30 years ago on the corporation's Open University output
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Geoffrey Wheeler, 71, was convicted of indecently assaulting a woman while he worked for the BBC more than 30 years ago on the corporation's Open University output
Wheeler was arrested under Operation Yewtree which was launched following the posthumous shaming of Jimmy Savile, pictured, who was accused of serial sex abuse
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Wheeler was arrested under Operation Yewtree which was launched following the posthumous shaming of Jimmy Savile, pictured, who was accused of serial sex abuse
Wheeler was also cleared of four indecent assault charges between May 1981 and September 1982 following a trial at Southwark Crown Court, pictured 
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Wheeler was also cleared of four indecent assault charges between May 1981 and September 1982 following a trial at Southwark Crown Court, pictured 
During his trial at Southwark Crown Court, the 71-year-old dismissed suggestions that he had attempted to touch the woman's breasts, saying: 'It did not happen.'
The jury of seven women and five men returned a majority decision on three of the charges, including the guilty verdict, and unanimously found him not guilty of two others.
Wheeler had been accused of 'persistent, repeated and unwanted sexual harassment' at the BBC's studio in Milton Keynes while he worked at the Open University for the corporation.
Wheeler - not to be confused with the BBC broadcaster and former Songs Of Praise presenter of the same name who died in December 2013 - was charged under Operation Yewtree.
The police investigation examined historical sexual abuse in the aftermath of the Jimmy Savile scandal.
Wheeler, who stood in the dock wearing a dark suit, white shirt and light blue tie, was told he must carry out 50 hours of unpaid work within the next 12 months.
He was also ordered to pay £150 in compensation to his victim, who Recorder Alexander Layton said had been 'palpably vulnerable' at the time of the assault, having just received some bad news.
He told Wheeler, who showed no reaction: 'Your past behaviour has caught up with you.'
He described the defendant as 'a man of good character apart from this offence' but added: 'You have shown no remorse for your behaviour.'
Wheeler, who the court heard is suffering from cancer and also acts as his wife's carer as she deals with Alzheimer's, was ordered to pay £500 towards prosecution costs.