A RETIRED man jailed 20 years ago for sexually abusing a young girl has been sent back to prison for further abuse against her and another girl.

Peter Hill Jones was jailed for three years in 1996 but his victim came forward again in 2013 to reveal the full extent of what he had done to her.

On Friday the 63-year-old, of Burndell Hill, Yapton, near Bognor, was jailed for 17 years after being found guilty of three rapes and nine indecent assaults against a girl aged between nine and 13 in Yapton, between 1988 and 1993; and indecently assaulting a girl aged between nine and 12 at an address in Barnham between 1981 and 1984.

Detective Constable Andrea Watts, from Sussex Police, said he had separately befriended the families of both girls and gained their confidence.

The first victim came forward for the second time after learning he had been convicted in 2013 of possessing child pornography images, telling police about abuse that took place over a period of five years before his 1996 conviction.

The second victim came forward independently in 2014, recalling strikingly similar abuse.

One victim, whose identity is protected by law, spoke this week of her long, painful fight for justice and thanked police.

She said: "There were times when I thought I could not cope, but that would have meant he was winning so I kept telling myself - don't let him win.

"I never gave up and all was worth it as justice has been done."

DC Watts said: "As Hill Jones pleaded not guilty, both victims, although now adults, had to give evidence and relive their traumatic childhood experiences. But we are glad that they have now achieved justice."

Hill Jones will be a registered sex offender for life, and was issued with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order severely restricting his access to children until further court notice.

He had been found guilty on August 3, after an eight-day trial at Lewes Crown Court.