A MAN convicted of a string of sex offences dating back more than 20 years has been jailed for three years.

Keith Innes, 61, of Thatchers Lane, Cliffe, near Rochester, was found guilty by a jury at Maidstone Crown Court in September last year of two offences of indecency with a child and five of indecent assault. The court heard the charges related to a catalogue of abuse.

His victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, gave her evidence at his trial from behind a screen.

Innes returned to court last Friday in a wheelchair having had to have his lower leg amputated since his trial as a result of diabetes.

Jailing him, Judge Philip Statman told Innes that he regarded him as having a "domineering personality" with no insight into his offences.

Innes was also made subject of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order banning him from having contact with female children under the age of 16, disqualified from working with children and ordered to sign the sex offenders' register indefinitely.

At the time of the abuse Innes, a highways engineer, was living in Chatham.

He was cleared of two further offences of indecency with a child, one of indecent assault, one of attempted rape and one of assault causing actual bodily harm.

He was also accused of attempted indecent assault and indecent assault involving two girls in the late 1980s but was cleared by the jury of both charges.

Innes was found not guilty of two allegations of sexual assault against a girl in 2005. It was these accusations that led to the police investigation which revealed Innes's past behaviour.

While giving evidence Innes accused all the girls of lying. At Friday's hearing Crispian Cartwright, defending, said Innes "could not" accept the guilty verdicts.