Oct 1999

Man jailed for child assaults

A man was starting a jail sentence today for a series of indecent assaults on young girls.

Kenneth Newman was supposed to be babysitting two little girls but a court heard how on separate ocassions he indecently assaulted them.

One was aged six at the time and the other was ten, Chelmsford Crown Court heard yesterday.

Newman, 54, also indecently assaulted two other young girls aged five and ten before matters came to light when one youngster said Newman had touched her, David Holborn, prosecuting, told the court.

He denied the girl’s claims at first but later made a full confession to Colchester police and admitted the other matters, the court heard.

Newman, of no fixed address, admitted a total of five indecent assaults between January last year and May this year when he appeared in court for sentence.

Judge Brian Watling QC jailed him for a total of 30 months and told him to stay on the sex offenders’ register “indefinitely”.

Grace Ong, mitigating, said Newman was “deeply ashamed” at what he had done and wished to apologise for the upset he had caused.

She also said that by his guilty pleas, Newman had spared his victims the ordeal of giving evidence in court.