A MAN who sexually abused two girls, one of them as young as six years old, has been jailed.

Sam Fowler, of Bourton Close, Witney, had denied carrying out the abuse over a period of 20 months but a jury convicted him last month of three counts of sexual assault against a child aged under 13.

The sexual assaults took place between between 2007 and 2008 against two female victims, neither of whom can be named for legal reasons, and one of which was aged six years old at the time.

The 24-year old shook his head as he was told he would spend the next two years in prison for the sexual abuse committed a decade ago when he was aged just 14.

During the incidents he performed sex acts on two different girls on a number of occasions.

He also made threats to prevent them from telling anybody what was happening.

In mitigation, his defence counsel said that Fowler had matured in the years following the abuse and that he had simply ‘mismanaged’ his ‘adolescent urges’ at the time.

Sentencing, Judge Maria Lamb called the incidents ‘humiliating and degrading’ for the victims and said: “They have gone through an ordeal with a trial.

“However gently and appropriate cross examination was it was an ordeal.

“You are somebody who is hard working and who now wants to put this sort of behaviour behind him.”

He was jailed for three months and 12 months to run concurrently for two of the counts of sexual assault against one girl, and a further 12 months to run consecutively for another count of sexual assault against a second girl.

He must also sign the sex offenders register for ten years and pay a victim surcharge.