A serial sex offender was jailed for three years on Friday for assaulting an eight-year-old girl as she walked to school.

Winston Washington Duncan, 41, who was living in St. Brendan's at the time of the trial, pleaded guilty to the attack on March 7 this year in Pembroke.

Crown Counsel Oonagh Vaucrosson said Duncan had followed her, undone his zipper and exposed himself before putting his hand round the child's shoulders. Mrs. Vaucrossan said: "She was screaming `No, No!' she pulled away and ran. She was extremely frightened.

"A woman saw her, the girl ran towards her and was crying and saying `He's coming, he's coming!'

"The victim ran round her a couple of times and said `he's going to get me'.

"The woman noticed the man walking away pulling up his zipper." Duncan walked away and claimed he hadn't done anything but when he was arrested more than an hour later he told Police he wanted to feel the girl's breasts.

Mrs. Vaucrossan read out a string of similar offences against women and girls going back to 1983, including an assault on a woman at St. Brendan's but said it was not a complete list.

Every time Duncan had been given probation. The prosecutor said a doctor's report had shown Duncan knew what he was doing and that treatment in community would not be suitable as there was a risk of him re-offending.

"He terrified this eight-year-old girl as she went to school."

Defence lawyer Mark Pettingill said he agreed the defendant had terrorised her and he said it was a sad case.

He said his client had a mental age of ten and that Duncan was in a supervised environment at St. Brendan's and should stay there but Westgate would be entirely inappropriate.

However Magistrate Edward King said Duncan had attacked a woman at St. Brendan's. He sentenced Duncan to three years in prison, the maximum being five, and recommended he get help in the prison's sexual offenders programme.