A 'MANIPULATIVE' pensioner from Newcastle, Co. Down has been sentenced to six years after being found guilty of sickening sexual offences against a child and a vulnerable young woman.
Sean Small, 80, was sentenced at Newry Crown Court on Wednesday, July 6 and placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life.
Judge Gordon Kerr QC also imposed a 10-year restraining order on Small.
Investigators described Small's crimes as 'sickening'.
Victims
Small had previously pleaded guilty to 10 offences, which had been carried out between September 30, 2016 and April 2, 2018.
They included sexual activity with a child, inciting a child to engage in sex activity and sexual assault by penetration.
The Belfast Telegraph reports that Small offered one of his victims, an underage teenage girl, £85 to sleep with him.
The second victim was a vulnerable young woman, whom Small touched inappropriately while doing gardening work at her home.
'Dangerous human being'
The mother of one of Small's victims said he had tried to convince his victim that she wouldn't be believed if she spoke out about the abuse.
"Sean Small is a sexual predator and dangerous human being who I trusted with my daughter," she said.
"He manipulated us all and told her if she spoke out that she wouldn’t be believed — but she was.
"We would like to thank the Police Service of Northern Ireland, Public Prosecution Service and the Courts for taking this case on and for believing in my child and helping her and myself through this horrible ordeal."
'Highly manipulative'
The PSNI also highlighted how Small manipulated those around him to carry out his sick crimes.
"The offences committed by Sean Small are sickening," said Detective Constables Karen Mills and Neill McRoberts.
"He is a highly manipulative individual who befriended two families in order to sexually exploit one underage girl and one young woman.
"They will now both carry the trauma of what happened to them at the hands of this man for the rest of their lives.
"We thank them for their bravery in coming forward and reporting to us so that we could bring him to court today to answer for his crimes against them."
Small will spend three years in jail and three under supervised licence conditions.
