A man whose sexual assaults on a girl came to light after she secretly recorded his criminal conduct on an iPad has been jailed.
John Kernan, 56, of Scaws Drive, Penrith, was sentenced today at Carlisle Crown Court for sexual offences against two children committed many years apart.
Prosecutor Gerard Rogerson told how one of the primary school-aged girls set up the iPad after becoming increasingly uncomfortable at Kernan’s previous behaviour during so-called play-fighting.
She managed to capture two such incidents, and there had also been a third offence on an earlier occasion. When she spoke to police, the girl described trying to pull away from Kernan, of being nervous and that she didn’t know how to tell him to stop.
Kernan was arrested, interviewed and when shown the iPad footage he conceded, Mr Rogerson told the court, that it did look bad. He had also admitted: “I’m a really silly man.”
It was as a result of the girl’s report to police that a second victim came forward. It emerged Kernan, years before, had made that girl touch him sexually on three separate occasions when he was aged 16.
When brought to court, Kernan pleaded guilty to three sexual assault charges in respect of the first girl, and one of gross indecency in relation to the second.
The first girl’s mother had been left sick to the stomach after seeing the video footage and spoke of the devastating impact of Kernan’s crimes. Her daughter had gone through a rollercoaster of emotions and trauma, including nightmares. “This is something that will haunt us for ever,” her mother had said.
Mark Shepherd, defending, said Kernan had experienced a difficult childhood and was a flawed man requiring professional help. He added of the impact: “It is something he has to carry, something he has to live with regardless of what sentence is imposed by the court.”
Kernan, a man with no other convictions to his name, was jailed for 16 months by Judge Richard Archer. Kernan must sign the sex offenders’ register and follow the strict terms of a prevention order, both for 10 years.
