A 51-year-old man has been sentenced to four and a half years imprisonment for a series of sexual offences against two young girls.

Phillip Ince, of Park Lane, Toppesfield, near Braintree, denied but was convicted by a Chelmsford Crown Court jury of seven charges of indecent assault.

He was ordered to sign on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

Stephanie Farrimond, prosecuting, said the victims were aged between 11 and 13 at the time of the offences which occurred between June, 1997, and November, 1999, in the North Essex area.

Ince denied that any indecent assaults had taken place and told police they had "put their heads together and made it all up."

Nicola May, mitigating, said Ince had worked mainly as a sales representative but had been out of work since February last year due to a foot injury.

Judge Gareth Hawkesworth told Ince: "I can give you no credit for any guilty pleas because you remain in a state of complete denial about these offences. At present you pose some risk to girls, particularly between the ages of 11 and 15."

Published Thursday, April 24, 2003

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