A “sexual menace” who targeted two girls in completely separate offences has been branded a “coward, a predator and calculating”. Peter Kitching originally denied that he sexually assaulted the girls because he did not want to be “labelled as a sex offender” and he struggled to accept what he had done, Hull Crown Court heard.
Kitching, 56, admitted a series of offences of sexually assaulting two girls aged under 13 and causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, in the Hull area. He pleaded guilty on the day of a scheduled trial.
David Godfrey, prosecuting, said that Kitching was a “sexual menace” and he had a “clear and established sexual interest” in the girls. The offences against the second girl came to light after the matters involving the first girl were reported to the police.
Kitching was a “coward, a predator and calculating” in his actions, including intimate touching of the girls and asking for photographs to be sent to him. He had caused pain to the victims and their families. He had previous convictions but not for sexual offences.
Rachel Scott, mitigating, said that Kitching “denied the offences in full” during a pre-sentence report but that was no longer his position. “He really struggled to accept what happened and to accept it to himself,” said Miss Scott.
“He doesn’t want to be a person who is labelled as a sex offender. He is a sex offender. He accepts doing this. In prison, he will be able to do work on this. It has been a huge culture shock, adjusting to a custodial environment.”
Kitching had been on bail for a lengthy period before the day of trial but, after his guilty pleas that day, he was remanded in custody to await sentence. He had travelled to court that day by car – despite being advised not to do so – and this meant that, after he was remanded in custody, his car was left stuck where he had parked it.
Kitching had been in work recently but he would now lose his job. “He will be a sex offender,” said Miss Scott. “Both of these girls have suffered harm.”
Judge John Thackray KC told Kitching: “You blighted the childhoods of two children, who may never fully recover from the effects of your offending. I can’t give them their childhood back.
“It’s difficult to accept that there is genuine remorse but denial still exists. There is an element of minimisation. You pleaded guilty at a late stage.”
Kitching, of Central Drive, Rossington, near Doncaster, was jailed for six years. He was given an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and he must register as a sex offender for life.
As he left the dock to be taken down the cells, a woman in the public gallery shouted: “I hope you rot.”