A MAN who abused young girls for eight years has been jailed by a crown court judge for five years and three months.

Elwin End was said to have indulged in his own sexual gratification at his victims’ expense.

He stopped the abuse when he was confronted in 1984, but it only came to light recently.

End, 62, of Lower Road, Temple Ewell, near Dover, appeared at Canterbury Crown Court in February and admitted nine charges of indecent assault or indecency with a child between December 1976 and January 1984.

Caroline Knight, prosecuting, said at this week's sentencing hearing that the victims were as young as 10 when the abuse started.

End was working at a nursery, and would touch the girls indecently and make them look at pornographic magazines and films.

He would isolate one of the girls so he could attack her, and take some of the young girls into a hay loft to abuse them.

One of his young victims thought he may have raped her, although End was not charged with rape. Other girls were abused while sitting with End on his tractor.

Miss Knight told the court: “He was confronted in 1984 and denied matters. The girl did not have the courage to pursue her complaint but this caused the behaviour to stop.”

End had no criminal record and his counsel, John Warrington, said he felt revulsion, regret and remorse at his behaviour and wanted to apologise to his victims.

He said End was now a ruined man. “He robbed these girls of their innocence and has devastated the lives of his family,” Mr Warrington said.

“He has tremendous uncertainty over whether he will have a home to return to.”

End has been banned from working with children for life and will be on the sex offenders’ register for at least five years.

The court made a sexual offences prevention order banning End from any unsupervised contact with children under 16, unless in the presence of their parent or guardian or inadvertently, such as in a shop or at a bus stop.

The 129 days End has served on remand will count as part of his sentence.