A MAN has been jailed for the second time for sex abuse offences. Leslie Knight, 61, from Sandy, was sentenced to 12 months in prison at Luton Crown Court on Monday after being convicted by a jury of five charges of indecent assault. The offences were com

A MAN has been jailed for the second time for sex abuse offences.

Leslie Knight, 61, from Sandy, was sentenced to 12 months in prison at Luton Crown Court on Monday after being convicted by a jury of five charges of indecent assault.

The offences were committed between May, 2001, and October, 2003, against a girl aged between 10 and 12 who was not related to him.

The jury was told that in December, 2004, Knight was jailed for nine months for indecent assaults on a 12-year-old girl in 2002 and 2003. He denied those charges and continues to maintain his innocence.

But prosecutor Raj Shetty said: "The Crown says those convictions show a propensity to commit this type of offence."

The jury was allowed to hear about the previous offences under recent changes in the law.

Knight, of Abbey Grove, was cleared of other allegations back in 2004 relating to another young girl. He was convicted of the new offences by majority verdicts.

His victim was a schoolgirl who regularly visited his home. She said he would comment on and touch her breasts and grab her bottom. One allegation was of a more serious nature.

She told the jury that she was aware of him being arrested and convicted in 2004 but decided not to tell anyone then of her experiences because she feared the consequences to her family.

But she later told a boyfriend, after Knight had been released from prison and a new police inquiry began.

Knight told the jury: "I was gobsmacked when I was arrested again. I never had any physical contact with her. She even came round to see me about five minutes after I got home from prison."

Kate Davey, defending, said; "To be convicted again has an element of double jeopardy about it."

She said if the victim had made her allegations earlier, they would have been part of his last trial.

She said that since his release he had abided by strict conditions preventing him being alone with children and teenagers.

Judge John Bevan QC told Knight: "There was an element of grooming here. She should have been able to trust you."

The sexual offences prevention order restricting his conduct was ordered to run for a further five years and he must register as a sex offender for 10 years.