Johannes Schreuder was jailed for more than five years at Ipswich Crown Court after refusing to attend his trial for sexually assaulting a schoolboy, describing the proceedings as a “witch-hunt”.

Schreuder wrote a letter to Ipswich Crown Court saying there was no point attending what he called a "charade of justice" and described the court as a "circus".

He said if he was found guilty it would be a "gross injustice" and he refused to be part of the proceedings.

Schreuder, 73, of Norwich Road, Ipswich, denied three offences of sexually assaulting a boy under 13 between March 1 and May 10 last year and was convicted of all three offences by a jury in his absence after a trial.

Jailing him for five years and six months on Monday November 18, Judge Martyn Levett described the offences committed by Schreuder as " perverted" and said that telling the child not to tell anyone what he'd done was part of a "grooming" process.

He said the offences had had a devastating impact on the victim's family who had to deal with the aftermath of what Schreuder had done to their child.

In addition to being jailed, Schreuder was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order and ordered to sign the sex offenders' register indefinitely.

He was also banned from contacting the victim and the victim's family for life.

David Wilson, prosecuting, said Schreuder had attended court on July 2 and pleaded not guilty to the offences.

Financial activity suggested he had since travelled to Thailand.

During the trial the court heard that after the victim's parents confronted Schreuder about allegations made by their son he had allegedly contacted them and said: "I hang my head in shame for not stopping this."

After his arrest Schreuder denied being sexually interested in the boy and said in his "naivety" he had been hoping to teach him about his genitals.

The boy's mother told the court she was "gobsmacked" when her son told her Schreuder had touched his penis.

She said she had managed to hold back the tears while she continued getting her son ready for bed but had been thinking: "Oh my God."

The next day she and her husband had confronted Schreuder about the allegations and he had admitted touching their son, but denied doing it for sexual gratification.