Locations
Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham
Description
John Edward Kilgannon, 66, sat behind his victims and reached through the gap between the bus seats in front of him to "stroke" the girls on their sides for periods lasting up to 20 minutes.
A court heard the perv committed the three offences between October and November last year on the Arriva bus service from Middlesbrough to Peterlee, County Durham.
One 17-year-old victim complained to police and CCTV evidence led to Kilgannon's arrest at his home in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham.
But on Friday the warped sex fiend dodged jail at Teeside Magistrates Court after pleading guilty to three counts of sexual assault.
Paul Harrison, chairman of the bench, said he took such matters "very seriously" but gave Kilgannon a two-year community order and ordered him to pay each victim 200 in compensation.
Paul Power, prosecuting, said the pensioner had been drinking on each occasion and admitted he stroked the girls "for his sexual pleasure".
One of the teenagers said the vile assault had a "huge impact from a confidence point of view in terms of public transport".
She added in her victim impact statement she "felt uncomfortable" when men looked at her.
The second victim said she missed a number of days of college and was "nervous around older men" following the attack.
Liz McGowan, defending, said her client had been a man of previous good character,
She added: He tells me that drink is something that has lessoned his inhibitions while on the bus.
Hes not saying its solely the drinks fault. Hes saying he did this for his own sexual pleasure.
He is remorseful he says that. He has not repeated his behaviour.
For some unknown reason he was bailed by police from November 26 until March 7 almost four months hes had this on his mind for all that time.