An ex-policeman cleared of sexually assaulting a young girl is behind bars today for perverting the course of justice.

Paul Traynier, of Cliffe Road, Strood, has been jailed for three years after being unanimously convicted at Maidstone Crown Court.

The 40-year-old gasped and clutched his hands when he was acquitted on Friday of the sex assault.

But jurors, who were sent home for the weekend to continue deliberations yesterday, found him guilty of two offences of perverting the course of justice after almost seven hours.

Traynier's parents - John, 64, and 65-year-old Shiela Traynier, of Cliffe Road - were earlier found not guilty on the same charges.

It had been alleged Traynier had given the 12-year-old girl a love bite during play fighting, but he denied any wrong-doing and told the jury the youngster was "infatuated" with him.

During the four-week trial, the court was told Traynier had also had an inappropriate relationship with another teenage girl and then lied and deceived people into believing nothing had happened.

A sexual relationship was said to have developed between him and the older girl.

But the ex-police officer told police in interviews he was not in a relationship with the second girl "pre-16".

When asked during the trial why the youngsters developed a crush on him, Traynier replied: "I don't know really. I think it is because I'm a happy-go-lucky person."

He denied ever touching or play fighting with the younger girl

Traynier also told how his relationship developed with the older girl, maintaining he was not involved with her when she was 15.

He said while he had moral doubts, he was in a depressed state after finding out his girlfriend, Tracey Sales, had had an affair.

"She came along, showed me this bit of affection. It just grew from there really. It just happened. It wasn't a planned thing..." - defendant Paul Traynier

He told the jury: "I had refused her (the girl) advances for the period of July. I was just really depressed, very down. I had been written off sick from work. I was just in a bad place.

"She came along, showed me this bit of affection. It just grew from there really. It just happened. It wasn't a planned thing."

The charges against his parents related to notes their son is alleged to have hidden in the back of his mother's wheelchair during prison visits.

Mrs Traynier told the court she and her husband asked him not to keep passing the notes, but he continued to do so.

She said the first was pushed into her hand by her son while at Elmley Prison in Sheppey.

She said she did not feel she had any other option but to take it.

Mrs Traynier described it as a sad letter which, after discussions with her husband, was later thrown away.

She said two further notes were found in the back of her wheelchair after another visit.

She denied that one letter contained any instructions about what somebody should say.

The notes continued during subsequent visits. Mrs Traynier told the court: "I wanted to help Paul out. He was innocent as far as I was concerned. I wanted to see if I could help."

Paul Traynier's girlfriend, Miss Sales, was also in the dock at the start of the trial, accused of aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring sexual assault of a child and two offences of perverting the course of justice.

But the 36-year-old, also of Cliffe Road, was formally cleared of any wrong-doing by Judge Philip Statman during the proceedings and the jury was directed to return not guilty verdicts.