March 1998 Deaf man jailed for sex assaults on young girls A DEAF Wirral man who sexually molested two young girls was jailed last week for five years. Judge Ian Crompton told David Lamb he was passing a longer than normal sentence because a psychiatric report said he posed a risk to children. He said that in 1974 Lamb had been convicted of indecently assaulting a 15-year-old girl and in 1978 of indecently assaulting a girl aged four. He had arranged for Lamb to be assessed at a psychiatric unit and the psychiatrist’s report said Lamb had failed to learn from experience, did not demonstrate any victim empathy and that he ‘targeted children by befriending them’. “His conclusion is that you are likely to pose a grave risk to children for the future,” said Judge Crompton. “These are sexual offences and I have a duty to the public. I have great sympathy for your afflictions and I accept fully that it must make life very difficult for you. I also accept that any prison sentence will be more harsh on you than another person,” he added. “While I am desperately sorry for you, the protection of children must be an over-riding factor,” said Judge Crompton. Lamb, aged 45, was also ordered to register under the Sex Offenders’ Act for life. Lamb, of no fixed address, was convicted of four charges of indecent assault and indecency with a seven-year-old girl, and indecently assaulting a three-year-old girl. Mr Andrew Mattison, prosecuting, said that the offences came to light after the younger child spoke to her mother, who contacted the police. Lamb, who cannot read or write, denied the offences, telling a Liverpool Crown Court jury via an interpreter that they had never happened.