May 2015 Man jailed for sex offences against girl aged under 13 A MAN has been jailed for four-and-a-half years for sexual offences against a young girl. Anthony Paul Ellis, 30, had denied sexually assaulting and inciting the girl, who was aged under 13, to engage in sexual activity. Ellis, formerly of Shotton but who had been bailed to a Runcorn address, was ordered to register with the police as a sex offender for life. An indefinite sexual offences prevention order was made.  Judge Philip Hughes, sitting at Mold Crown Court yesterday, said Ellis had guided the girl’s hand on to his genital area over his clothes. He had spoken to the girl about sexual activity and he also put his thumb inside the waist band of her pyjama bottoms and tried to pull them down. She was able to get away and said that she wanted to telephone her mother and that if he did not allow her to do so then she would contact the police. The victim reported what was happening but by the time her mother and the police arrived, Ellis had left. When arrested, he even tried to pass the blame on to his young victim and suggested that she initiated the sexual behaviour. She had suggested they have intercourse, he claimed. But the judge told him: “That was a total lie.” He took into account that when the child told Ellis to leave her alone, he did so, but he said that the victim was particularly vulnerable because of her young age. Ellis was also affected by drink, which was an aggravating feature. Although the psychological and emotional harm to the girl was not known, she was not physically injured. He did not persist with the abuse after she made it clear she wanted it to stop. But only a substantial prison sentence could be justified, the judge said. “I notice with some disappointment from the pre-sentence report that you still deny your offending,” he told Ellis. April 2015 Runcorn man facing prison for sex offences against girl A MAN has been warned that he faces a substantial prison sentence after he was convicted of sexual offences against a young schoolgirl. Anthony Paul Ellis, 30, denied sexual assault and inciting the girl, aged under 13, to engage in sexual activity – and blamed her for what had happened. He claimed the victim was highly sexualised, which was indicated on her Facebook site. But the jury at Mold Crown Court was told that police had checked her Facebook site – including deleted items – and found that it contained nothing more than the usual interests of young girls. The girl’s mother told the court in a statement that she found it highly offensive that such suggestions were being made about her daughter. Statements obtained from the girl’s school showed that she was a shy, quiet girl who gave the school no cause for concern, the prosecution said. Ellis, formerly of Deeside but now of Waterford Way in Runcorn, had previously been bailed on condition that he did not enter Flintshire, apart from attending court, and he was not to approach witnesses or have any unsupervised access to children under 18. But when the guilty verdicts were announced on Friday Judge Philip Hughes remanded him in custody pending sentence. He did not fix a sentencing hearing date, but said it would be in May. “You will, I am afraid, be receiving a substantial prison sentence for these offences,” the judge told him. He should also register with the police as a sex offender, Judge Hughes added. The court heard Ellis had previous convictions for 24 offences, but nothing of a sexual nature. Karl Scholz, prosecuting, suggested to the court that the case was of a category that could have a starting point for sentencing of eight years.