James Swan, 46, arrives at Teesside Crown Court where he was jailed for five years today
A father-of-two who groomed a schoolgirl with thousands of explicit messages and sexually assaulted an 18-year-old has been jailed for five years.
James Swan, 46, from Rookhope in County Durham, admitted the sexual offences, exactly eight years after he was cleared of another perverted attack.
Both the incidents took place in the 2000s, but the complainants came forward last year.
The former Madame Tussauds photographer groomed the younger girl, aged 13, over several years and attacked the 18-year-old by pinning her against a wall at the foot of his stairs.
The case comes after Swan was cleared of sexually assaulting a teenager, by a jury at Teesside Crown Court on December 18 2009.
Giving evidence at the time, the girl had claimed the defendant said he was turned on by his wife’s alleged infidelity, but the court had been told he had a strong marriage.
In the recent investigation, police seized Swan’s computer after the two victims came forward and detectives found evidence that he was a ‘convincing liar’, said prosecutor Richard Bennett told the court.
Officers also discovered thousands of MSN messages, many of them highly sexualised, between him and the 13-year-old.
Included in them were his thoughts that he was turned on by thinking of his wife with other men.
Mr Bennett said Swan attacked the 18-year-old in his home in the remote village of Rookhope when his wife was out.
The teenager believed she was going to be raped and the assault only stopped when his wife rang and left an answerphone message to say she was on her way back.
The whole incident left his victim ‘badly frightened’, the court heard.
Swan, 46, from Rookhope in County Durham, admitted the sexual offences, exactly eight years after he was cleared of another perverted attack
Swan went on to groom his second victim for years with sexualised messages, flattering the girl with attention from what the prosecution said was a ‘well-spoken handsome man’.
He would perform massages on her, including her feet, and tell her how aroused he was.
Mr Bennett said: ‘The sexual grooming went on for page after page and month after month.
‘It was not encouraged initially but it was grooming that ensured she would keep chatting to him.’
Swan also encouraged her to take naked photos of him, Mr Bennett said.
Jamie Hill QC, defending, said: ‘Living for most of his life in Weardale, he has of course appeared in the local papers and the nature of that geographical area is that many people know him, know his family and not only has he brought extreme embarrassment to himself, but also to the good name of his family, and for that he is deeply regretful.’
Swan lost his business when he was charged and he has had to rely on the goodwill of his family since then, Mr Hill said.
He has left the family home and will be unable to work as a photographer in the future, the court heard.
Swan was jailed after admitting sexual assault, causing a sexual act without consent and two counts of sexual activity with a child, at Teesside Crown Court.
Sentencing, Judge Stephen Ashurst told him: ‘It is quite clear from the MSN messages that you spent a great deal of time fantasising about sexual matters.
‘Whether each and every aspect of what you wrote about was accurate of fictitious is neither here nor there, but it is clear you were acting out your sexual fantasies with two young girls who were so much younger than you.’
The judge added that Swan had enjoyed a ‘comfortable upbringing’ and told him: ‘You have three daughters aged 14, 10 and nine months and I imagine you would be utterly outraged if an adult approached your daughters in the way you did to the two girls in this case.’