April 2008 No jail for pensioner who sexually assaulted girl aged 10 A PENSIONER from Lewisham caught on CCTV “eyeing up” a schoolgirl before trying to kiss her has avoided jail. John Douthwaite, 69, spotted the 10-year-old walking through the corridors of the Hilton London Metropole, in Paddington. Southwark Crown Court heard the pensioner, of Burnt Ash Hill, Lewisham, was on a weekend break at the four-star hotel with his sick wife at the time of the incident on August 26 last year. The court heard on Tuesday (April 22) that Douthwaite grabbed the girl by the shoulders, before telling her: “You’re beautiful” and trying to kiss her. Prosecuting, Anita Arora said the girl – who was visiting London with her parents and five-year-old brother from the Middle East – “felt scared” and “uneasy” when Douthwaite stopped her in the corridor. Ms Arora said: “She tried to walk around him because she was feeling concerned but he stopped her by placing his hands on her shoulders and leaned forward towards her face.” The court heard the pensioner then asked: “Can I kiss you?” The frightened girl struggled free and ran to her mother who was sitting in the hotel’s restaurant. Douthwaite was arrested the next day. When he was shown CCTV images of him holding the girl’s shoulders he claimed it was someone who looked like him. Even when he was picked out in an identification parade Douthwaite insisted the child was mistaken. But he later had a change of heart. Judge Michael Gledhill, passing a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, said: “You should be ashamed of yourself. “You were seen on CCTV images eyeing her up.” He added: “This sort of behaviour, even in a man of your age, will simply not be tolerated.” Douthwaite – who pleaded guilty to sexual assault of a child under 13 – was also given a two-year supervision order and put on the Sex Offenders’ Register for seven years.