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Left to abuse again

Exclusive by Dan Thompson
20/ 3/2008

AN INQUIRY has been launched into why a paedophile was left to molest a girl months after he admitted groping another child.

Terence Parr, 53, had been ordered to take part in a sexual offender’s treatment programme by a crown court judge after pleading guilty to indecently assaulting a 12-year-old girl.

But he was not placed on the intensive course and went on to assault a six-year-old girl – just eight months after being convicted for the first offence.

Judge Timothy Clayson, sentencing Parr at Bolton Crown Court, said: "This is a very serious issue and I don’t know the reason for it. I want an inquiry and a report to be prepared as to why after eight months he had not started on the programme when the sentencing judge had indicated that he begin as quickly as possible.

"This is a very unhappy twist to the history of this case."

Parr, of Abbey Road, Hollin, had molested the six-year-old girl in August last year. He denied the allegation but was found guilty by a jury in February.

He was serving a three-year community order at the time of the offence after he admitted indecently touching a girl of 12 in 2005.

He had escaped a custodial sentence because of time spent in jail on remand.

Judge Clayson said Parr’s offences were of a low to medium level of seriousness according to sentencing guidelines.

The judge gave Parr a 21-month sentence for the most recent assault and a three-month sentence for the 2005 offence.

Parr must spend one year behind bars and another on licence.

He was also disqualified from working with children and placed on the Sexual Offenders’ Register.

A spokesman for the Manchester Probation Service said Parr had not been placed on the sex offender’s course because he was deemed at low risk of re-offending and was therefore not a priority.

The spokesman said: "During the last year there has been a backlog of offenders waiting to start the programme and we acknowledge and regret that Mr Parr has had to wait some considerable time for a place.

"Probation staff have been working with Mr Parr while he has been on his community order to address the majority of the issues he had which led to him offending in the first place. Mr Parr has always attended his appointments with us and done the work required of him.

"There was no indication, as far as we could possibly assess, that Mr Parr would re-offend.

"We extend our sincere apologies and sympathy to the victim in this case."

The spokesman added new staff have been trained to deliver the programme and three new sex offender’s groups will start next month.