Locations
Hillesdon Road, Torquay, Devon, TQ1
Description
A man who sexually abused two girls has been jailed for nine years.
Stephen Cox, 44, from Torquay, Devon, was found guilty in May at Exeter Crown Court of seven offences.
They included assault by touching, engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.
The younger victim was only three when she was interviewed by police, and Cox, who denied the charges, had shown no remorse, the court heard.
Cox, of Hillesdon Road, was also sentenced to a five-year extended licence, put on the sex offenders' register for life and issued with an Sexual Harm Prevention Order, restricting contact with children.
'No remorse whatsoever'
Mary McCarthy, prosecuting, said the abuse happened in the late 2010s at a property in north Devon and came to light when the older girl, then aged six, told her mother what had happened.
The younger of his two victims was aged three when she was video-interviewed by specially trained police, and a little older when other evidence was pre-recorded.
In their evidence, the children said Cox had touched them and devised an "elephant game" in which he encouraged them to touch him.
Cox was said to have a "significant sexual attraction to children" by the writer of a probation report, and the judge, Recorder Mr Donald Tait, categorised him as a dangerous offender who posed a real risk of harming children.
The judge said Cox's behaviour had had a "very significant effect" on the girls and he had shown "no remorse whatsoever".
After sentencing, Det Con Terry Hodgson, of Devon and Cornwall Police, who led the investigation, said that the victims' cooperation was a "testament to their bravery" after they "suffered significant sexual abuse".
He added: "This is an important reminder that such reports will always be taken seriously by the police and justice will be sought."