A MAN abducted an 11-year-old schoolgirl and forced her to perform a sex act after luring her into secluded woods to find his lost puppy, a court heard on Wednesday. But a police blunder left the suspected fiend free to carry out further alleged assaults for nearly 10 years before he was arrested, a jury was told. James Evans, 33, is said to have approached the youngster, her brother, 6, and their friend when they were going fishing near Bunch Lane, Haslemere, in October 1997. He allegedly split the group and led the girl alone to a quiet spot before grabbing her around the throat and dragging her backwards into the wood. He took a photo of her following the attack and threatened to spread it around her school if she told anyone, the jury heard. The terrified girl ran home and told her mum, and a massive hue and cry went up. A BBC Crimewatch reconstruction led to names of potential suspects flooding in from viewers across the country. One caller was a regular customer of Lythe Hill Hotel where Evans worked – about two miles from where the attack took place. He said that the identity fit resembled the defendant. But incredibly a police blunder meant that Evans – who has a history of inappropriate sexual behaviour with children – was not questioned for nearly a decade, until he was arrested for assaults on two other girls. Patricia Lees, prosecuting, said: "Although the matter was investigated in 1997 some of the exhibits – the drawings and other evidence – in the passage of time have been either lost or destroyed." A junior policeman visited the hotel at the time but Evans wasn't there and police ruled him out without finding him. Miss Lees, told the court: "Although the police made some preliminary inquiries about Evans, those inquiries were inadequate and he was eliminated without being seen by the officer who went to the Lythe Hill Hotel. "If Evans had been seen by that junior police officer it may well be that he would also have been struck by the likeness of this defendant to the CD fit." Evans was finally arrested in January last year and told officers in a police interview they had got the wrong man. It led to the defendant, of Charterhouse, Godalming, facing trial at Guildford Crown Court where he denies kidnapping and indecency with a child. Miss Lees told the jury the girl, her brother and their 11-year-old pal had bought sweetcorn from a local supermarket to use as fishing bait when they were approached by a man who asked them if they had seen his dog. He called himself 'Tom' to conceal his identity from the youngsters, the court heard. Miss Lees said the 11-year-old lad noticed the man's hand shaking nervously before he suggested they split up to look for his pet. Several witnesses had spotted the 'oddball' wearing a blue and green chequered jacket and carrying plastic bags, and became concerned when they saw him walking with the children. The defendant is said to have led the victim, who can not be named for legal reasons, over a fence and across a stream into woods where he suddenly threatened to tie her up if she did not do what he said. The girl screamed but he covered her mouth with his hand, pulled her to the ground and sat on her before ordering her to perform a sex act on him. He then pulled a camera from his plastic bag and took a picture of the girl before asking her where she lived, warning he would be keeping an eye on her house. He then handed her some cash and let her go. The jury watched on a giant screen the chilling Crimewatch reconstruction showing the kidnapper using the same trick to chat to youngsters before targeting the 11-year-old girl. The court heard the same man had been seen loitering in the area and asked other children to help him look for his dog. He had also approached the victim a few days earlier in Haslemere, as she waited for a bus with her friends, to go to bible class. Evans did not turn up for work on the day of the attack and has a history of behaviour that demonstrates an interest in young girls, Miss Lees said. In July 1996 he was allegedly spotted acting suspiciously near a paddling pool watching children playing. The incident was reported to the police but he was never charged. Police had arrested Evans after he repeatedly touched two girls, aged 12 and 14, on the bottom in a supermarket in May 2006, and he later pleaded guilty to sexual assault. Officers seized his computer and discovered a catalogue of indecent pictures of girls aged 13 and 14, in explicit poses or engaged in sexual activity. He was charged and admitted in court 20 counts of making indecent images. Following his arrest Evans was questioned in January 2006 about the 1997 attack but denied he was the culprit, insisting he was the victim of mistaken identity. The victim, now aged 21, was re-interviewed and picked out the defendant in an identity parade. She told police she was 70 per cent sure he was her attacker. The trial continues.
