A PAEDOPHILE who sexually abused two young girls has been warned he faces a lengthy jail sentence.

Thomas Pitfield raped one girl when she was as young five years old, and committed sex acts with the child and a second young girl in the early 1990s.

Pitfield, aged 53, of Daisy Street, Daubhill, had denied committing buggery, three counts of indecent assault and one charge or indecency with a child, but following a trial at Bolton Crown Court, a jury found him guilty.

Judge Timothy Stead remanded Pitfield in custody until December 12 to allow for pre-sentence reports to be prepared but warned him: “What happens to you remains to be seen, but there will be an inevitable lengthy prison sentence in the case.”

During the trial the jury of six men and six women heard how Pitfield committed the offences when the girls were aged between five and six.

Michael Maher, prosecuting, told the court how Pitfield promised the girls sweets if they would engage in sex acts with him.

He told how, when he first started the abuse, one girl told Pitfield: “My mum’s going to buy me sweets from the shop, so I don’t need sweets from you.”

But Pitfield continued using the promise of sweets as part of the grooming process.

The court heard that one girl now cannot bear loved ones breathing on her neck as it brings back memories of the abuse she suffered at Pitfield’s hands.

The jury was told how Pitfield took the abuse further and raped one of the young girls.

“She said she wanted to scream with the agonising pain,” said Mr Maher.

When arrested Pitfield denied he had committed the offences 20 years previously, claiming it was a case of mistaken identity and he was being put forward as a scapegoat.

Grey haired Pitfield collapsed into a chair in the dock as the jury returned their verdicts following seven hours of deliberation.