February 2019 Worthing sex attacker jailed A dangerous sex attacker tried to rape a man while he slept and sexually assaulted a ten-year-old boy. Mark Lord committed three separate attacks on two men and one boy in Worthing and Littlehampton, leaving them devastated. The 55-year-old was told his sexual conduct was “out of control”, and blamed alcoholism and mental health problems for his actions. But at Hove Crown Court the 55-year-old was jailed for nine years, and was told he would serve a longer sentence because he presents a clear risk to public safety due to his repeated sex offences. Catherine Hirst, prosecuting, said Lord was found guilty at trial in November after the offences between September 2017 and March last year. She said a ten-year-old boy had been with his mother in the lounge of their home after she had taken pity on him and offered him a place to stay. While she was asleep Lord grabbed the boy and touched him sexually, and tried to force the boy’s head towards his groin. The homeless paedophile kicked the boy to prevent him going towards his mother to wake her. Lord’s second victim had been a fellow rough sleeper, and had been asleep when he awoke to find his trousers and pants had been pulled down, with the pervert attempting to rape him. Meanwhile the third victim had also taken pity on him and offered him a place to stay, only to end up being the victim of a repeated sexual assault, without consent. Recorder Jonathan Davies sentenced Lord for a range of offences. He was told that Lord had previously been to prison in 2016 for a sexual attack on a man, but said this was the first instance of sexual abuse on a child. He said Lord’s long “downfall” had started with a first conviction for a sexual offence in 1982. He has seven previous convictions for sex offences. The judge said: “The pre sentence report considers that you are dangerous, and pose a high risk of causing serious harm to the public. “Your sexual conduct was out of control over the period of six months from September 2017 to March 2018. “The youngest victim, aged ten, feels upset because you should not have done it. “Clearly he has real difficulty in his life, connected to what you did. “The second victim says your conduct has totally changed his life, while the third victim says he has lost faith and trust in life.” Lord was jailed for nine years. He will serve at least six years of his sentence before he is considered for parole. He will remain on licence for an additional three years. Meanwhile he remains on the sex offenders register, and the judge also imposed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for an indefinite period.