January 2005
Man aged 68 jailed for sex abuse
A MAN who sexually abused a girl has been jailed for 12 months despite ill health.
James Irvine, aged 68, of Lawford Road, Rugby, admitted two charges of indecently assaulting the girl, when he appeared at at Warwick Crown Court.
Brett Mills, prosecuting, told the court the victim had been nine or 10 at the time.
The offences came to light when the girl told her cousin on the phone what had happened. The victim’s aunt overheard the conversation and told the girl’s mother.
Neal Williams, defending, handed in medical reports on Irvine, who the court had earlier heard, had suffered heart problems and asthma and had an abdominal wound which had become infected because he had MRSA.
Jailing Irvine, Judge James Pyke said: “But for your age, your plea of guilty and your health, the sentence would have been very much longer indeed.”
Irvine will be subject to an extended three-year period on licence after his release, and will have to take part in a sex offenders’ programme.
The judge also ordered Irvine to register as a sex offender for 10 years after his release and have no unsupervised contact with children.
