A “deviant” who sexually abused two young girls has been jailed for more than 10 years.

Jeffrey White, 55, embarked on a campaign of serious sexual abuse against the girls between 2005 and 2009 in Rishton.

Preston Crown Court heard how White would routinely sexually touch the two girls and that the abuse lasted for several years.

The offending came to light when the victims, both now adults, reported White’s actions to the police.

Both gave video interviews to officers and in November 2020, White was interviewed. He denied the allegations and said they were engineered by the partner of one of the victims.

White maintained innocence throughout but was convicted on five counts of sexual assault of a child aged under 13 across two trials.

At the first trial in November 2023, White faced 19 allegations of sexual assault and was convicted of one.

He was acquitted of 13 similar offences, leaving five outstanding which the jury could not reach a verdict on.

One of these remaining counts was not pursued at a retrial, but the other four were and White was convicted of those in June of this year.

In a statement, the first victim said the impact of White’s offending on her had been “horrendous” and that she now undergoes counselling to help manage her trauma.

She said: “I hope one day I can be truly free from this nightmare and it can just be an awful memory.”

The second victim said White’s crimes had “affected her emotionally throughout her entire life.”

She said: “I often wonder what my life would have been if I didn’t have such a traumatic childhood.”

Wayne Jackson, mitigating, said there had been no expression of remorse from White as he had maintained his innocence throughout both trials.

Judge Philip Parry, sentencing, said: “It’s clear you had an unhealthy sexual interest in the girls.

“You were arrested, interviewed, and denied any sexual impropriety, claiming one of the victims had made all this up.

“Your sexual abuse of these two girls has been life-altering.”

Judge Parry also noted extracts from the pre-sentence report in which White maintained the girls were lying and denied all his offending.

The author of the report said White was “clearly capable of manipulating and deviant behaviour” and said he had a sexual attraction to children.

Judge Parry sentenced White, of Petre Crescent, Rishton, to 11 years in prison.

He will be subject to sex offender notification requirements for life and a 15-year restraining order was imposed between him and his victims.