A 'VULNERABLE' man who sexually assaulted two young girls has avoided a prison sentence.

A 'VULNERABLE' man who sexually assaulted two young girls has avoided a prison sentence.

Nicholas Gill, 35, of The Street, Barrow, pleaded guilty to two offences of sexually touching a child and was sentenced to 24 months probation supervision at Ipswich Crown Court yesterday.

In one incident, an 11-year-old girl was in the Warehouse Centre in Bury St Edmunds with her mother and brother when she was assaulted by Gill.

Michael Crimp, prosecuting, said the girl had become separated from her family when she saw Gill walk past her with a “blank” expression.

Mr Crimp said: “He then came up to her, grabbed her breast and squeezed it twice. She then screamed, he ran off to his car and left the car park.”

Gill's car details were noted and he was seen on CCTV leaving the store.

Mr Crimp added: “There had been a number of similar incidents in the Bury area at that time.”

He said due to the publicity surrounding similar attacks another 11-year-old girl revealed that she had been sexually assaulted by Gill when she was nine.

The court heard that she was changing her top when Gill approached her holding up a mobile telephone as if he was about to take her photograph. He then took hold of her top and continued to take it off her.

Simon Spence, mitigating, described Gill as a 'vulnerable individual'.

He added: “He did not commit these offences through a sense of evil but because he is a vulnerable individual without knowing the rules of society or what is acceptable behaviour.”

After reading a pre-sentence report and a physiological report Judge John Holt said to Gill: “You are best described as a vulnerable child yourself and you have not learned how to behave in society and that is why you have committed these two crimes.”

Gill was sentenced to 24 months probation supervision with the aim of teaching him acceptable behaviour.

He was also prohibited from contacting his victims, excluded from all Bury St Edmunds' shops for two years and told to sign the sex offenders' register and remain on it for five years.