Paul Skilton 68

Description

A former Scout leader has been jailed for sexually abusing two children in Newport and Pembrokeshire.

Paul Skilton, 68, of Llangwm in Pembrokeshire, was convicted at Newport Crown Court of two offences of indecency with a child and three of indecent assault, committed between 1997 and 2002 when he was in his early to mid-forties.

The court heard that Skilton placed a female child's hand on his penis and rubbed his penis against her vagina. He also groped a male child's bottom under his clothes, prosecutor Nick Gedge said.

In a statement read by Mr. Gedge, the female victim said she had lost trust in men due to the abuse.

Summarizing the male victim's statement, Mr. Gedge said: “The abuse he suffered had a big impact on his life and mental health.”

Defense counsel Ruth Smith noted limited mitigation, as Skilton denied the offences. She described his "pro-social life" with no prior convictions, substantial Scouting involvement without complaints, and poor physical health that would make imprisonment "more onerous."

Recorder Paul Hartley-Davies, bound by laws at the time, sentenced Skilton to four-and-a-half years' imprisonment. He must register as a sex offender, faces a 10-year sexual harm prevention order, and the victims have 10-year restraining orders against him.

Skilton was acquitted of four further indecent assaults and two indecency offences.