Langham cleared of four indecent assault charges

LONDON, July 26 (Reuters) The jury hearing the case of actor Chris Langham were instructed today to find him not guilty of four of the indecent assault charges he faces.

Langham, who is on trial at Maidstone Crown Court, still faces six other counts of assaulting a teenage girl and 15 child pornography offences.

The award winning comedy actor, who won a BAFTA for his role in the BBC comedy ''The Thick Of It'', denies the accusations and is due to give evidence later today.

On Wednesday, proceedings at the court were halted after a woman juror became upset while watching a child porn film that Langham is accused of downloading from the Internet.

Judge Philip Statman called a halt to the DVD evidence after the woman began wiping her eyes and covering her face.

Langham's lawyer has told the court his client downloaded some images while researching a paedophile character for the BBC comedy ''Help'' which he co-wrote with comedian Paul Whitehouse.

However, Whitehouse said he had not discussed researching child pornography with Langham for the show.

The prosecution has also told the court that Langham, a married father-of-two groomed and then abused a 14-year-old girl.

REUTERS AGL KP1602