A PENSIONER who sexually abused three young girls has been sentenced to eight years in prison.

George William Jones, 75, admitted to a series of sexual offences over a nine-year period involving girls as young as six.

Jones, formerly of South Annings, Burton Bradstock, was sentenced at Dorchester Crown Court on three charges of indecent assault and one count of assault by penetration.

Adam Hiddleston, prosecuting, said the first charge of indecent assault related to a girl now aged 17, who had confessed to her mother last September that Jones had assaulted her between 2000 and 2002.

The further two indecent assaults related to the first victim’s friend, who was between 10 and 12 when she was abused by Jones.

Mr Hiddleston said the most recent offence of assault by penetration took place between June and August last year and involved a girl aged six.

In mitigation, Robert Grey said Jones was a man of previous good character and had pleaded guilty to the offences, albeit on the morning he was due to stand trial.

He said: “For a man of 75 of previous good character it must have been a difficult process for him to have accepted that he was guilty of these offences.”

Mr Grey added that Jones was suffering from ill-health, including osteoarthritis in his knee and a hiatus hernia that made him prone to ulcers.

Judge Christopher Harvey Clark sentenced Jones to a total of eight years for the four charges and said he would be eligible to be released on licence after serving half that term.

He also ordered that the 326 days Jones had spent in prison on remand for the offences also be taken into account, meaning he could be out of jail in just over three years.

Judge Harvey Clark said: “These offences involve and disclose a pattern of behaviour involving the serious sexual abuse of young girls.

“The offences cannot be classified as isolated or momentary lapses on your part.”

Judge Harvey Clark said if Jones were a younger man he would have given serious consideration to an indeterminate sentence of imprisonment.

The judge imposed a Sexual Offences Prevention Order that he said would be active for life.

The order prohibits Jones from working with children under 18, living in the same house as children under 18 or having any unsupervised contact with a child the age of 18.