A MANAGER at a healthcare company has been cleared of repeatedly sexually assaulting a young care worker on his team.

Following a week-long trial a jury at Bolton Crown Court found the married man not guilty of six counts of sexual assault.

During the trial the court heard how the team leader, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had given the woman a job in 2017.

But she claimed that in subsequent months he would grab her breasts and buttocks, put his hands on her leg and told her: “Just let me have a feel. You need to keep your boss happy.”

Anya Horwood, prosecuting, told the jury how the woman told her boyfriend of her boss’s alleged behaviour but was initially afraid to make a formal complaint in case she lost her job. “When she began her employment she thoroughly enjoyed the work,” said Miss Horwood. “She found him to be a father-like figure who was friendly and supportive.”

But the woman claimed that he then began to behave inappropriately and she eventually made an official complaint in April last year. The manager denied the offences.