May 2015 Ifield paedophile found guilty of shocking sex attack on 12-year-old girl A PAEDOPHILE from Ifield has been found guilty of a sickening sexual assault on a 12-year-old girl. Thomas Johns, from Treyford Close, was convicted last Wednesday of assaulting a girl under 13 by penetration following a two-day trial at Lewes Crown Court. The 54-year-old carried out the attack at some point in 2005 or 2006, when the victim was 12 and he was in his 40s. It was only in 2012 that the victim, whose identity is protected, felt able to talk about her horrific ordeal. She told her father what she had been through, having previously been too scared to reveal what had happened. The assault had taken place at a home in Horsham, where Johns had asked the complainant to take her knickers off, before assaulting her for five to seven minutes. The court was told that a £5 note fell out of his pocket as he left and he said: “This is for you.” Summing up his case, prosecutor Gino Connor said the complainant would not have made up the allegation. Jay Shah, defending, attempted to cast doubt, however, on whether the victim had been telling the truth. He questioned the different ways in which she reported what had happened to police. On one occasion, he told the jury, she said Johns had “touched my private parts” and on another that he had touched her “the wrong way”. He said: “When you consider the evidence I hope you come to the view that there are some serious problems in the Crown’s case that will lead you to the conclusion you can’t be sure of Mr Johns’ guilt.” Statements suggesting Johns’ previous good character had been read out in court. Having known him for 26 years, David Ede described Johns as like a “second father” to his boys, adding: “I find it impossible to believe that this is possible.” Jenny Whitfield, who worked with Johns for six years at Ifield Park Care Home, said he was a “kind and honourable man”. Having heard evidence from the complainant, from behind a screen, and Johns himself, as well as other witnesses, it took the jury an hour-and-a-half to decide his fate. Johns’ face dropped as the guilty verdict was read out and his family sobbed from the public gallery. Recorder Thomas Nicholson-Pratt made Johns the subject of a sexual harm prevention order until further notice and adjourned the case so a pre-sentence report can be prepared. He warned the defendant that although he was delaying sentencing, he was very likely to be jailed. “Please don’t think that because I’m taking that course you will receive anything other than a custodial sentence, unless there’s something wholly exceptional raised from the report,” he said. Johns, who was remanded in custody, is due to be sentenced on May 28.