A CONMAN who preyed on a York family within weeks of his release from jail is today facing a new prison sentence.

A jury rejected Philip Leslie Gawley's claims of innocence and convicted him unanimously of four charges of theft and two of deception.

Then prosecution barrister Geraldine Kelly revealed he had already served almost four years in jail for nearly 80 deceptions and other offences in Preston, Mold and Liverpool.

The court heard the 43-year-old was released from jail from his last sentence in September 1999, the same month he started to befriend the Ellwood family from Nunnery Lane, York.

During the trial the jury heard he lived in the same street, moving later to Morritt Close.

In Spring 2000, he deceived Paul Ellwood into giving him cheques totalling £302 and stole £590 from Ryan Ellwood's girlfriend Alice Quinn.

Then in mid-September 2000 Gawley fled to Salford with more than £1,000 of Paul Ellwood's money.

He tried to dupe the family into thinking he had moved to Australia.

But they went to the police and he was tracked down. He now lives in Stockport.

"At the moment I am thinking of a custodial sentence. You have done this sort of thing before," Recorder Henry Prosser told Gawley.

He adjourned sentence until October 19 while medical and pre-sentence reports are prepared.

The judge said he wanted to know what Gawley's real state of health is. The conman claimed to the jury he had a series of illnesses and is HIV positive.

The judge also asked police to check his criminal record after noting that it apparently began when Gawley was 35.

Updated: 08:07 Thursday, September 13, 2001