THE parents of two 12-year-old girls who were indecently assaulted by a 13-year-old traveller have hit out at the "joke" sentence he received.

The youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, admitted touching the girls indecently in a Dorset field during the early evening on Monday, August 23, when he appeared at Poole Youth Court on Thursday August 26.

As it was his first offence, the maximum sentence he could receive was a 12-month referral order - a contract of activities put together by a panel of youth workers which he must attend.

He was given the order for four months - just one month over the minimum possible sentence of three months.

The mother of one of the girls, who also cannot be identified, said the incident had left her daughter prone to tears and added she was angry a tougher sentence was not imposed.

She said: "I think he's got away with it and it makes me sick. It's a bit of a joke really. The police did so well in catching him and what's happened?

"We thought he probably wouldn't get a lot, but there's been a lot of tears and it's been quite stressful for the girls having to identify the boy and talk to the police about it."

The woman added that the girls were now "sticking together like glue" and that at least they had each other to help them through the traumatic experience.

"Both of them were crying their eyes out when they came home," she said.

"She was just so gobsmacked and embarrassed about it all. I just felt sick, very sick."

The second mum added: "I think he should have been locked up and the key thrown away. It's made me ill and I'm going to have to take my daughter to counselling because I think she needs it.

"I just think it comes to something when two girls can't walk dogs without being attacked like that.

"I'm not happy about what he's got because I don't think it's tough enough. It's appalling."

First published: August 31