Man guilty of semi-naked assault

Gerard Edwards tried to drag the girl into his car

A semi-naked man who tried to drag a teenage girl into his car has been convicted of indecent assault and attempted kidnap.

The girl, 16, ran off after managing to struggle free from Gerard Edwards, 37, in Rhyl, north Wales.

Edwards, of Trelawnyd, near Holywell was remanded in custody at Mold Crown Court for a psychiatric assessment.

The judge, Lord Elystan Morgan, said he suspected that Edwards may pose a very serious risk to the public.

In a video taped interview, the teenager told the jury of nine women and three men that she feared she would be raped or murdered following the attack last summer.

Everything was going through my mind - you hear all the time about girls being raped or murdered and I just wanted to get away Female victim

Edwards, who was not wearing trousers during the attack, tried to drag her in through the open passenger door.

"He was just trying to get me into his car," the victim said.

"I just told him to get off me, I screamed , and I tried to release his grip.

"Everything was going through my mind...you hear all the time about girls being raped or murdered and I just wanted to get away."

Edwards had always denied the charges against him and on Friday he shook his head in the dock as the verdicts were read out.

Verdict

Eight years earlier Edwards approached two young women in his car in Rhyl when he was semi-naked.

He claimed he lost his clothes following a party when his drinks had been spiked.

He was fined £100 by Prestatyn magistrates in 1995.

Following this latest incident, Edwards was arrested after the victim managed to scribble down his registration plate, which she almost got right, the jury was told.

On Friday he was cleared by the jury of possessing a lock knife in a public place which was found on him when he was arrested.

At the end of the trial on Friday the judge said he agreed with the jurors' verdicts.