Prison for Lowestoft paedophile
A PAEDOPHILE has been jailed for the 'beastly' and 'abhorrent' abuse of three young children.Alcoholic Harry Burns, of High Street, Lowestoft, was sentenced at Ipswich Crown Court yesterday.
A PAEDOPHILE has been jailed for the 'beastly' and 'abhorrent' abuse of three young children.
Alcoholic Harry Burns, of High Street, Lowestoft, was sentenced at Ipswich Crown Court yesterday.
The 54-year-old pleaded guilty earlier this year to three counts of causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity.
Judge David Goodin handed the defendant - who also suffers from depression - a 10 year sentence and described the offences as 'beastly' and 'abhorrent'.
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Simon Spence, prosecuting, told the court that on August 12 last year Burns was asked to look after his friend's three children - aged nine, six and five.
On returning home two days later the children - who cannot be identified for legal reasons - told their mother they had been sexually abused by the defendant.
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When interviewed by police they told officers they were forced into various states of undress and each made to perform a sexual act on Burns, who was completely naked.
The defendant was arrested and interviewed by police but denied the allegations, saying nothing inappropriate or of a sexual nature had occurred.
However earlier this month - just a few days before a trial was due to start - he admitted the offences.
In mitigation Andrew Thompson said his client was an alcoholic and was suffering from depression.
'He finds it very difficult to come to terms with what he did in this instance,' he said. 'He offers no excuses for it. At the time he was an alcoholic and was suffering from depression. However he doesn't blame alcohol for what he did.'
He said although the abuse was appalling it was not repeated and lasted between one and two hours with no threats of violence.
Sentencing Burns to 10 years in prison judge Goodin said: 'They are beastly offences - abhorrent to anyone who has to listen to the details of what you did to those very young children.
'Nobody can tell how they might, in due course, be affected by the fortunately relatively short ordeal at your hands in that flat as you abused each of them in a broadly similar way in turn.'
Burns was also disqualified for life from working with children and forbidden from entering or remaining in any dwelling where there are children under the age of 16 unless a parent or guardian of the child is present.
