watchet/coleford Sexual Abuser

July 2008 Coleford man who touched 11-year-old avoids jail A 63-YEAR-OLD Forest of Dean man who put his hand inside an 11-year-old girl’s dress and squeezed her bottom has escaped an immediate jail term.

At Gloucester Crown Court, Ian Laskey, formerly of Oakwood Road, Sling, near Coleford, but now living in a holiday caravan in Watchet, Somerset, was given a 40-week prison sentence suspended for two years on Tuesday.

Recorder David Bartlett said the court accepted the basis of Laskey’s pleas, that he had sexually touched the girl only twice on “isolated occasions”.

“On these occasions you ‘comforted’ the girl and in doing so you deliberately put your hand under her dress and caressed and squeezed her bottom and in doing so caused her considerable distress,” he said.

The Recorder said the girl had described how the offences had affected her.

“She said she would scream and kick things and headbutt things, including at school.” The Recorder said an aggravating feature of the case was that Laskey had given the girl money and sweets and had bought her “inappropriate” clothes.

“You bought her inappropriate tops which her mother had to burn because they were the wrong sort of things for an 11-year-old girl to wear,” said Mr Bartlett.

He said Laskey had told the girl to keep what had happened a secret but she had not obeyed.

Her life had been devastated and so had Laskey’s, the Recorder said.

“Your wife of 40 years has separated from you, very understandably,” he said.

“Your offences were very much out of character.

You are a 63-year-old man with no previous convictions.

“I have decided to give you a chance to remedy your behaviour and work through the causes of this disgusting behaviour.” Laskey, who has greying hair and a moustache, had been committed to the crown court for sentence having admitted the two offences before magistrates on June 17.

He had been arrested in late January and had admitted his offences to police, said Julian Kesner.

prosecuting.

The Recorder sentenced Laskey to 40 weeks’ jail suspended for two years and also gave Laskey a community order requiring him to attend the Thames Valley Sex Offender Programme for up to 60 days.

Laskey was further placed under supervision for three years and a sexual offences prevention order was imposed, banning him from contacting the girl or from working with children in either a professional or voluntary capacity.

Laskey must also sign the sex offenders’ register for the next five years.