Paedophile who abused two girls aged seven and eight is spared jail - after judge says it would be unfair to HIS family

Free: Paedophile Gary Karn 48, sexually assaulted two girls aged seven and eight on an allotment but has been spared jail

A man who sexually abused two little girls as they picked fruit at his allotment has avoided jail because a judge ruled it would be unfair to the attacker’s own family.Gary Karn, 48, inappropriately touched his victims, aged seven and eight, after inviting them into his greenhouse to help themselves  to raspberries as they played at nearby allotments owned by one of their fathers.
But he escaped with a suspended sentence after a judge decided that it would cause ‘suffering’ for his family.
The father of one of the girls, who both had to give evidence to Norwich Crown Court, said the judge’s decision showed no recognition of the impact the assault had on his eight-year-old daughter.
‘He talks about the effect on the offender’s family, but what about the effects on my family?' he said.
Father-of-three Karn, a food processing factory worker from Norwich, was found guilty of three counts of sexual assault against  a child.
The court heard he invited the girls on to his allotment. He told them that he needed to brush spiders off them then put his hands up the top of one girl, and down the trousers of the other.
He was also charged with six counts of possession of extreme pornography and one count of possession of indecent photographs of a child.
Judge Mark Lucraft decided not to proceed with these offences but took them into consideration.
He gave Karn an 18-month suspended sentence, saying an immediate jail term would unfairly affect his family.

Trial: After considering the mitigation in the case, Judge Mark Lucraft (left) agreed Gary Karn (right) should not go to prison

‘I have to consider the impact on them – people who are not in any way at fault yet might suffer serious hardship from your actions,’  he said.

Jude Durr, defending, had told the judge: ‘Imprisonment will almost certainly lead to him losing his job.
If he loses his liberty and they lose their house, that would have pretty devastating consequences on the family circumstances.’

The decision outraged the victims’ families, who said the girls have been left traumatised from both the incident and the ordeal of having to give evidence in court.
The father of the eight-year-old added: ‘I find it all very disgusting. The judge has been too lenient.’

He told how the two girls were playing on his allotment last September when Karn invited them to pick vegetables and fruit on his plot.

The next morning the mother of one the girls overheard the pair saying they ‘didn’t want to talk to the man down the allotment’ again.
The girls then told what had happened after breaking down in tears when preparing a salad using vegetables from Karn’s allotment.
The father added: ‘I feel totally let down. The judge lives in cloud cuckoo land.
‘It has caused arguments between me and my wife – it happened on my watch. It has caused a lot of anguish and grief.’

Assaults: Karn had attacked the two girls at these Norwich allotments, claiming the victims had spiders on them

He added: ‘I told my daughter that she wouldn’t have to see that man ever again and it is all over and done with and now he is going to be walking around – how do you explain that to an eight-year-old? It will just confuse her.
‘We have put her through this –and ourselves – and for what? If I had known the outcome I would not have bothered.’

He continued: ‘I’ve worked with people who have lost their livelihoods when they’ve had points deducted from their licences and been banned from driving for minor driving offences yet a paedophile is allowed to walk the streets? It is ridiculous.’

Harrowing: The two child victims gave evidence at Norwich Crown Court (pictured) during a three-day trial

Talking about how it has affected his daughter, the father added: ‘There are noticeable little differences. She won’t stay upstairs in bed any more if her mum gets up and she carries her teddy everywhere as a comfort toy.
‘What scares me is that I am one of those parents who encourages my children to talk to people and acknowledge them when they are spoken to. The allotment is the last place I would have expected this to happen.’

Judge Lucraft suspended Karn’s sentence for two years and banned him from working with children for five years.
He was also ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and was given a five-year sexual offences prevention order.
Karn last night insisted that he is innocent and said his wife Jane was standing by him.
He said: ‘I was not guilty, but I was done for it and there is not much that I can do about it now.  I don’t want to stir things up too much more, now I am on a suspended sentence.
‘I didn’t get off lightly because I didn’t do anything to start with. I was just brushing spiders off the girls and now I am getting hammered for it.’
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