Phillip Schofield’s brother has been sentenced to 12 years in jail after being convicted of child sex offences.
Civilian police worker Tim Schofield, 54, was convicted at Exeter Crown Court of 11 sexual offences involving a child between October 2016 and October 2019, including two of sexual activity with a child.
Giving evidence Schofield, from Bath, Somerset, claimed he had called his 61-year-old brother—who presents This Morning on ITV with Holly Willoughby—one day in September 2021 and admitted engaging in a sex act with a teenage boy.
Tim Schofield said his brother told him “it should never happen again” but three months later he was arrested and charged by police.
Judge: ‘It was Wrong on Every Level’
Sentencing him on Friday, Mrs Justice Cutts told him: “You exploited his innocence at this stage of his life for your own sexual gratification. It was wrong on every level for you to behave as you did.”She said: “He felt forced to do what you wanted, trapped and unable to escape. He felt he couldn’t tell anyone and did not do so for many years. You took away his ability to be the teenager he should have been, carefree, relaxed, happy. It is clear to me that you became utterly obsessed with him.”
Cutts said she had not heard any “remorse” from him, only “self-pity.”
After he was convicted Avon and Somerset Police sacked Schofield, who had been suspended from his job at the force’s headquarters in Portishead, near Bristol.
The judge imposed a sexual harm prevention order on Schofield and barred him from working with children.
She also praised the victim and said, “I sincerely hope that the boy and his family find a way to move forward from the dreadful events and I commend him for his bravery.”
Phillip Schofield: ‘I no Longer Have a Brother’
He added: “If any crime had ever been confessed to me by my brother, I would have acted immediately to protect the victim and their family. These are despicable crimes, and I welcome the guilty verdicts. As far as I am concerned, I no longer have a brother.”Speaking outside court following the sentencing, Detective Inspector Keith Smith, said: “The victim in this case has shown remarkable bravery in disclosing the horrific offences committed against them, and their support of the police investigation and court process has been invaluable.”
“We hope their courage and determination will encourage other victims of sexual abuse to come forward and speak to the police, no matter how long ago the offences were committed,” he added.
Phillip Schofield has been a household name since the 1990s.
Originally a children’s TV presenter, he has hosted numerous shows on BBC and ITV and in 2002 became one of the main presenters of the popular daytime programme This Morning.
In 2020 Phillip Schofield—who married Stephanie Lowe in 1993—revealed he was gay.
In an Instagram post he wrote, “With the strength and support of my wife and my daughters, I have been coming to terms with the fact that I am gay.”
The TV presenter, who has two adult daughters, said at the time he had “no secrets” from his wife.
