A SCHOOL computer technician was yesterday cleared of indecently assaulting two young pupils.

The 17-year-old information technology specialist was working in a Darlington junior school on an apprenticeship when two boys accused him of touching them on their thighs and genitals during a lesson.

Newton Aycliffe Youth Court was told the teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was helping the youngsters with their work.

Magistrates heard that a ten-year-old boy, suffering from an hyperactivity disorder, told friends he had been touched by the technician during a computer class on February 5.

A second boy, aged nine, said the same thing had happened to him when the other 32 pupils and teacher had left the room and he was alone with the teenager.

Giving evidence, the second child said: "He put his hand on the chair and then on my leg and started moving it down."

In a statement read out to the court by prosecutor Derek Walton, the boy's mother said he became withdrawn and wet the bed for the first time in five years after the incident.

PC Joanne Stallard, of Darlington police's vulnerability unit, interviewed the teenager after he was arrested on February 12.

The court heard that when she questioned him about the alleged incident he said: "That never happened. It disgusts me really."

The defendant, from Darlington, described how he had to hold on to the chairs that the boys were sitting on to keep his balance, but said he never touched them on the legs.

"I can't think of any reason why they said these things at all," he said.

He denied finding boys attractive and has not worked in any schools since February.

Bruce Cunningham, defending, said there were inconsistencies in the evidence, including two child witnesses wrongly describing the defendant as having blond hair and one boy confusing when the alleged assault took place.

He said: "It is very dangerous to assume that young people will necessarily tell the truth."

He said: "I think it is a possibility that a child said something and another child has jumped on the bandwagon."

Chairman of the magistrates bench Eric Fell dismissed the case and said: "We decided the number of inconsistencies in evidence are such that we cannot be certain enough to determine the disputed facts."