JAMES BARNARD

JAMES BARNARD OF BOGNOR SENTENCED TO NINE YEARS FOR SEXUAL ASSAULTS ON YOUNG GIRLS

In June 2014, James Barnard, aged 65, of Hillsboro Road, Bognor, was sentenced to nine years in prison for multiple sexual assaults on young girls.

Last month, he was convicted of five counts of assaulting two girls aged three and eight, with incidents occurring between 2008 and 2013.

Following his sentencing at Lewes Crown Court on Friday, Barnard was mandated to register as a sex offender indefinitely upon his release and was issued a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) that significantly curtails his access to children.

He was also acquitted last month of four other charges involving two additional girls.

Detective Constable Steve Edwards from the West Sussex child protection team explained, “Barnard got to know the girls over a period of time and gradually gained their confidence, a classic example of ‘grooming’.

He then chose opportunities to subject them to sexual assaults, which in their innocence and vulnerability they did not mention to anyone at the time.

"Only when one of them spoke to her parents last year did his behaviour come to light."