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An internationally renowned artist was today convicted of sex offences against children.
Graham Ovenden, 70, was found guilty of four charges of indecency with a child by a jury at Truro Crown Court.
They cleared the pensioner, a former pupil under Sir Peter Blake and who has had work exhibited in galleries across the globe, of three charges of indecent assault on the direction of Judge Graham Cottle.
Guilty: Graham Ovenden, 70, was today convicted of four counts of indecency with a child by a jury at Truro Crown Court
The judge told the jury of seven men and five women that he would accept majority verdicts, of which at least 10 of them were agreed, on the two remaining charges.
Ovenden, who was not present in court having been taken ill, denied all the charges relating to four children - now all adults - between 1972 and 1985.
The incidents, involving young girls, are said to have taken place at Ovenden's former and current addresses, in London and Cornwall, respectively.
Ovenden had been described in court by prosecutor Ramsay Quaife as 'a paedophile', who abused children while they modelled for him.
During the trial the jury were shown examples of his work, much of it involving young children.
Ovenden had told the jury that there was a 'witchhunt' surrounding those whose works involve nude children.
Accused: Ovenden, 70, still faces five further charges but the jury are still deciding their verdicts
He told the jury: 'Imagine Adam and Eve before the serpent - there's no shame.
'We're not born with trousers, skirts, shirts and shoes. One of the great qualities of art is to go back to the great point, the Garden of Eden.
'I have to say the absolute witchhunt which is going on at the moment and the idea if a child naked is something to be frowned upon, is absolutely abhorrent.'
The charges relate to four claimants, who contacted police long after the abuse is alleged to have taken place, and only when they realised exactly what had happened to them as girls, the court heard.
But Ovenden denied the abuse ever happened. He told the court he had taken pictures of children - including those in various states of undress - but said they were not indecent.
He also described the 'witch-hunt' against those who produce work involving naked children, accusing police of 'falsifying' images recovered from his home computer.
Ovenden, from Bodmin Moor, Cornwall, denies having a sexual interest in children.
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