Justice has finally caught up with a sex offender who assaulted a young girl in Rugby nearly 20 years ago

And justice has finally caught up with abuser John Hall after a jury at Warwick Crown Court found him guilty of charges of indecent assault and sexual assault.

Hall (55) who previously lived in Rugby, but now of Sleaford, Lincs, was jailed for four-and-a-half years and ordered to register as a sex offender for life.

Prosecutor Matthew Barnes said that in the early 2000s, Hall, who also lived in Rugby at the time, turned up unexpectedly at a house in Rugby where a girl was babysitting and sat on the sofa next to her as he talked to her.

Mr Barnes said: “He made a comment about an item she was wearing around her neck, a necklace or a rosary, but it was a pretext for touching her.”

Hall went to to touch her under her clothes and rub his body against hers.

The girl immediately phoned a friend to tell her what had happened, and some weeks later she told her mother.

As a result, her parents went to confront Hall, who protested his innocence, claiming he had never touched her, and the girl did not want to go to the police at that time.

Last year, now in her 20s, she reported what had happened after becoming aware of a further complaint of sexual assault against Hall.

Mr Barnes said that had taken place in the summer of 2017, by which time Hall had moved to Sleaford.

It involved Hall touching a woman in her mid-20s under her clothing.

Hall claimed neither incident took place.

After the jury returned its guilty verdicts, Mr Barnes said Hall had ‘a raft of offences’ of violence and dishonesty on his record.

And he pointed out that both victims have spoken of the significant impact the offences have had on them.

Andrew Tucker, defending, said: “These two matters of which he has been convicted are separated by a very long time.”

Of the offence against the girl, he made the point: “It was the touching of the breasts, but it was not touching of more private parts of that young girl, and it was on one occasion.

“So far as [the woman] is concerned, the touching was not of the genitalia and, although the circumstances must have been very distressing, it did not go beyond that.”

Jailing Hall, Judge Anthony Potter told him: “I am quite satisfied your actions were a cynical taking advantage of two individuals.

"There is no evidence of any remorse.

“The only mitigating factor is that you have difficulties with your health, and as a result this sentence will be harder to serve than some others you have served.”