A man who molested three young girls when he was a teenager has gone to prison for two years.

Alan Tilley, 31, was convicted last month of two offences of indecent assault and one of indecency with a child, dating back to the 1990s.

Maidstone Crown Court heard that Tilley, formerly of Tadburn Green, Chatham, was 13 or 14 when he sexually assaulted the girls while babysitting.

The offences involved Tilley persuading one of the victims to undress in a bathroom, before he also stripped off and lay on top of her.

The most serious charge involved him getting one of the girls to perform a sex act on him when she was naked.

Years later, one of the girls told her mother Tilley had done "dirty and disgusting things" to her. The abuse was eventually reported to the police last year.

Tilley vehemently denied having sexual contact with any of the girls.

Tom Stern, defending, said of the abuse: "He was a child. He has matured into adulthood. He was 13 or 14. It is not classic grooming by a predatory adult who knows exactly what they are about."

Judge Charles Macdonald QC said the sentence would not be different from the one that would have been passed at the time of the offences.

"The dominant feature of this case and your principal mitigation is when you committed the offences you were yourself under age," he told Tilley.

"They (the victims) were all vulnerable because of their ages and gullibility."

DC Ally Smith said: "I would like to commend the victims in this case and express how proud I am of them for the way in which they have behaved throughout the investigation and whilst at court.

"It was an extremely difficult time for them and I hope that they can now begin to move on from this terrible ordeal.

"Kent Police is determined to seek out those individuals who carry out abuse and we are committed to identifying offenders and bringing them before the courts."