A MAN who tried to sexually assault a nine-year old girl in a field before threatening to kill her horse if she spoke out about his actions has been given an extended jail term.

Bradford Crown Court heard that James Frankland, 30, tried to touch the girl in her “pubic area” in July last year before she hit him and told him to stop.

The court was also told that more than a decade earlier, in 2004, Frankland had assaulted a six year-old boy, forcing his victim to kiss his genital area and perform a sexual act upon him.

Frankland, of Elmete Grange, Menston, denied three charges of sexual assault of a child, two of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, and one of threatening to destroy property.

He was found guilty of all charges after a trial.

In an impact statement read to the court, prosecutor David McGonigal said that Frankland’s female victim had been left “scared and confused” by the incident, suffering nightmares after the event.

He added that it had taken more than ten years for the defendant’s male victim to come forward and speak to his father about Frankland’s behaviour.

Robin Frieze, defending, said his client, who the court heard had no previous convictions, continued to deny the offences to the author of a report compiled by the probation service.

Recorder Graeme Cook said of Frankland’s assault on the boy: “What happened to him as a young boy has affected him for ten years plus.”

On his attempts to touch the young girl, he said: “When she said she was going to tell somebody, you said you were going to kill her horse.

“That terrified her.

“That’s what you did to a nine year-old girl.”

Imposing a six-year jail term with a two-year extended licence period, Recorder Cook told Frankland he had abused “young, vulnerable children of both sexes, 13 years apart.”

He told him: “I am satisfied that you pose a significant risk of future harm by committing further offences.”

Frankland was made the subject of an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and must register as a sex offender for life.