Former Bath newsagent Lewis Knight guilty of rapes
A former newsagent from Bath who fled to Spain while accused of child sex abuse has been convicted of rape and indecent assault.
Spanish national Lewis Knight fled the UK in 2000 before a trial where he was accused of child sex abuse.
The 60-year-old, also known as Luis Caballero, was tracked down to Spain before being extradited last year.
He was convicted at Bristol Crown Court of 10 charges including four counts of rape, involving three girls.
The jury took under three hours to convict Knight, of Torres de Segre, near Barcelona, of the rape and indecent assaults of victims who were aged between 13 and 15, at a newsagents in the 1990s.
The jury was told that he groomed the girls by paying them higher wages.
Andrew Macfarlane, prosecuting, said Knight was arrested, interviewed and charged by police in 1999.
He was released on bail pending his trial but applied for a passport which was granted and then fled the UK.
"He failed to attend for his trial and inquiries were made and a warrant was issued for his arrest. Until quite recently he was in the Barcelona area of Spain," said Mr McFarlane.
Knight remained free until last year when British police located him and he was arrested, the court heard.
He is due to be sentenced next week.