A PENSIONER has been jailed for sex crimes he committed on young girls in the 1980s.
Kenneth Shackman, aged 65, of Manchester Road, Bury, was sentenced to four-and-a-half years after being found guilty of 10 charges of indecent assault.
He was given a prison sentence of four-and-a-half years. He denied the charges.
Bolton Crown Court heard the offences were carried out against three girls, aged between six and 11, during the 1980s in Bury. Shackman was a friend of the girls' families. He would visit them at their homes and take them on trips, where he would then sexually abuse them.
On many occasions he abused the children while their parents were in the house, but the girls were too afraid to say what was happening to them, the jury was told.
Shackman's crimes went unreported until, in April, 2004, one of his victims, then aged in her 30s, came forward to report the matter to police.
An investigation was launched in which two other victims came forward, the court heard.
Det Con Natalie Armstead, of the Child Protection Unit said after the trial: "I'm sure Kenneth Shackman's victims will be happy to know that, even 20 years later, he has now been brought to justice for his crimes."
In addition to his jail term, Shackman was ordered to sign the Sex Offenders' Register for life and will no longer be allowed unsupervised contact with children.
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