Sex fiend may be kept in jail for life (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Sex fiend may be kept in jail for life

4:30pm Thursday 27th April 2006 in Search By Newsdesk

A convicted sex offender who abducted a 14-year-old girl before plying her with drink and drugs could spend the rest of his life behind bars.

A judge yesterday branded Kenneth Thomas "a serious danger to the public" after hearing how he lured the schoolgirl to his Bradford home and took photographs of her and made her watch a pornographic film.

He was only caught when two child protection officers arrived at his home to check on him and found the girl sitting in his car after she had fled from his house.

Thomas, 45, who was already serving a community order for exposing himself to two children aged ten and two, was told that he would not be released from prison until the parole board was satisfied he was no longer a danger to the public.

Passing sentence Judge Peter Benson told Thomas: "What concerns me... is the conduct on this date indicates a very serious escalation of your sexual offending and it bears some disturbing hallmarks of premeditation, determination and persistence."

Bradford Crown Court was told Thomas approached the girl, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, in October last year as she was waiting for a bus to school at a bus stop in Cleckheaton.

Prosecutor Rupert Doswell, said Thomas asked her if she would help him with his car, which he claimed had broken down. The youngster did help him for a short time but then returned to the bus stop.

When the bus failed to show up, Thomas, who had got his car started, said that he would give her a lift to school and she agreed.

Once in the car, Mr Doswell said Thomas touched her leg and started massaging her neck.

He then offered her some drugs, asked her if she had a boyfriend and said he would teach her to drive at a place he called "Lover's Lane".

Thomas then drove past the school and despite the teenager asking him to take her back, he took her to his house at Brae Avenue, Bolton.

At first the girl stayed in the car and Thomas brought her out a drink which turned out to be laced with vodka and amphetamines.

Mr Doswell said the girl thought about running away but eventually went into the house and into the defendant's bedroom.

Thomas locked the front door and showed her a picture of a semi-naked woman before asking her to take her tights off. She refused, but Thomas told her to lie on the bed and he played her a pornographic DVD.

Eventually she persuaded him to open the front door and went to sit in his car.

At that point two police officers from the child protection unit arrived at the house to check on Thomas, who was a registered sex offender. They saw the girl in the car and Thomas was arrested.

The court was told Thomas still denies that the incident was sexually motivated, but before his trial in February he pleaded guilty to charges of causing a child to watch a sexual act, child abduction, offering to supply Class B drugs and two counts of administering a noxious substance which were amphetamines and alcohol.

His barrister, Fiona Dix-Dyer, had urged the judge to impose a determinate sentence, saying that a sentence for public protection which she described as effectively a life sentence would be too severe for these offences. She stressed there was no sexual touching of the girl in the bedroom.

Judge Benson said he was satisfied there was a significant risk to the public.

He sentenced Thomas to six years and six months in prison and told him he would have to serve half that sentence before he could be considered for release. He added he would only be let out once the parole board was satisfied it was safe to do so.

The judge also made a sexual offences protection order, which bans Thomas from ever having unsupervised contact with children, working with children, having children in his house and from going on to school grounds or playgrounds.

Thomas, who will have to sign the sex offenders register for the rest of his life, will also have to register any vehicle he owns with the police.

After passing sentence, the judge praised the police whose timely intervention may have prevented the girl from further harm.