THE parents of victims of a child molester who was jailed for three years have hit out at length of the sentence.

John Brayshaw, aged 52, of Windermere Avenue, Atherton, was jailed at Bolton Crown Court on 12 counts of indecency and indecent assault on children aged between five and 12.

One angry parent, who cannot be named for legal reasons said: "We are obviously very pleased he has gone to prison but the sentence is definitely not long enough."

Another said: "It's a disgrace. He'll be out in about 18 months and people get longer than that for breaking into houses and stealing cars."

The court heard how Brayshaw molested the four young girls in his home.

Judge Brian Carter said Brayshaw had "cruelly abused the trust" of the children he had molested.

The offences first came to light when Brayshaw, a painter and decorator by trade, admitted fondling and assaulting a nine year-old-girl, during a private conversation with a man while he was working on a job at Hindley Prison.

The court was also told how he was almost caught by his wife assaulting a girl in his garden shed. He had molested two girls in his kitchen and assaulted a five-year-old girl.

Prosecuting, David Friesner said Brayshaw was arrested after the man he had been talking to went to the police. He changed his story a number of times, first denying the conversation and later admitting the offences and then he changed his story again, claiming he confessed while under stress and thought he would be beaten up by police.

The girls were interviewed on video and said they were told not to tell anyone about the incidents. They said they were not threatened by Brayshaw but said they were too scared to say anything.

He continued to protest his innocence until he changed his pleas to guilty at the 11th hour at Bolton Crown Court.

Bernadette Goodman, defending said the offences were committed during a period of severe stress and depression and he "expresses genuine sorrow and remorse and hopes the girls can continue the rest of their childhoods in a happy and undisturbed way."

Passing sentence, Judge Carter said: "The aggravating feature in your case is the age of the children and the fact that you took advantage of your trusted position.

"Right-thinking members of the public will be disgusted by the way you have behaved. It is clear that the message must go out that those who take advantage of children in this way must be severely punished."

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