bby NIGELG

A CONVICTED killer released on licence from a Sussex prison is back in jail after indecently assaulting a girl of nine.

Frederick Lawrence was convicted at Chichester Crown Court of five charges of indecent assault.

He was acquitted of a sixth charge alleging the same offence.

The offences took place after Lawrence was released from Ford Open Prison, near Littlehampton, where he served ten years of his life sentence.

After the jury's verdicts the court heard that Lawrence, 53, was jailed for life in April 1998 at the Old Bailey for murder.

It involved the killing of a friend in a drunken incident and was not sex-related.

After his arrest for indecent assault, Lawrence's licence was revoked by the Home Office and he was returned to prison to continue serving the life term.

Now he must serve an extra two years for the indecency offences.

Judge Eric Wrintmore told Lawrence his eventual release would depend on the Home Secretary. When he is finally released he will be registered as a sex offender.

Rebecca Poulet QC, defending, told the court after the verdicts that the indecent assaults were not the most serious of their kind.

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