August 2008 Child sex attacker disowned by family A 61-year-old man who sexually assaulted young children has been jailed for two years. John Miles, formerly of Elm Green Close, St Peter’s, Worcester, was convicted last month by a jury of four counts of sexual assault. He abused a girl between the ages of six and eight and a boy of nine during the 1990s. Judge Daniel Pearce-Higgins QC told Miles, who wept in the dock at Worcester Crown Court: “The damage caused to children by abuse can be considerable.” Miles must sign the sex offenders’ register for 10 years and is under a sex offenders’ prevention order indefinitely. The judge extended his licence period on release to three years so that he can take part in a probation-run treatment programme. During the trial, the court heard from prosecutor Jonas Hankin that the victims were unknown to each other. The girl, now aged 18, complained to police four years ago but Miles, now of Lockhill, Upper Sapey, near Bromyard, was only prosecuted when the male victim told his story. Miles groped the girl’s private parts and attacked the boy over a two-month period, performing a sex act on him. The two counts of sex abuse against the boy were only specimen charges from a larger number of offences, the judge said. Miles, who had a job maintaining computers, once whispered to the girl: “I should not be doing this.” He attacked the boy on one occasion after he had watched him play a computer game. Both victims were told to keep the abuse secret but were not threatened, said Tim Sapwell, defending. Miles, a man of previous good character, had lost his reputation and his family had disowned him. He suffered from depression and skin disease, which would make his life in jail difficult. Mr Sapwell said he had drawn solace from his Christian faith in the past but that was now lost to him. Miles had refused to accept the jury’s verdicts, he added, but the case had shown the offending was short-lived and opportunistic.