March 2009 Man jailed for sexually abusing girls A MAN has been jailed for sexually abusing two girls at a sleepover. Anthony Clark, of Cranmore Avenue, Park South, admitted causing or inciting a 12-year-old to engage in sexual activity and sexually assaulting a girl under 13. He also pleaded guilty to a further four counts of sexual activity with a 14-year-old. Swindon Crown Court heard on Tuesday how the girls, who are friends, encountered Clark at a number of sleepovers in August last year at a friend’s house and there was a discussion of who fancied whom. Clark, 20, invited the girls to join him in a group hug and began to rub the 12-year-old girl’s leg as he cuddled her, the court was told. The court also heard how he wrote a note to the 12-year-old saying he fancied her and when she replied asking why, he wrote back ‘because you are pretty’. He then made sure the note went in the bin and told her not to say anything. During the sleepovers he made her touch him inappropriately and he touched her inappropriately. The sexual activity with the 14-year-old comprised touching her inappropriately. Lynne Matthews, prosecuting, said that when Clark was arrested he denied any wrongdoing. “The defendant replied ‘I just cuddled them when they were upset’,” said Ms Matthews. “He thought he was being kind and friendly by cuddling them. “It was clear he knew [the 12-year-old’s] age. “He guessed that [the 14-year-old’s] age was 15.” Adam Gadd, defending, argued that the crimes had been committed over a short period of time and were more opportunistic than premeditated. He asked the court to take into account the defendant’s age and his significant cognitive problems, which include a lack of consequential thinking and an inability to understand other people’s views. He also said his client had not had the best education or familial upbringing, which may have contributed to his poor “understanding of boundaries”. Another factor, he argued, was the death of Clark’s girlfriend, who was pregnant at the time with his child, in a car crash and that Clark had until recently had an alcohol addiction. Sentencing Clark, Judge Douglas Field said he had taken into account Clark’s previous good character and youth, but said there was an element of grooming involved. “I have to take into account the obvious impact this had had on these young victims,” he said. “Who knows how long this will stay with them.” Clark was sentenced to three years and three months in prison and a further three years and three-month sentence to run concurrently for the offences against the girl under 13. He was handed 12-month and 18-month prison sentences for the counts of sexual activity with the 14-year-old, to run concurrently. Clark was also disqualified from working with children and was put on the sex offenders’ register, both for an indefinite period, and given a sexual offences prevention order of 20 years