A JUDGE has called for prosecutors to draw up plans to restrain a paedophile who has been convicted for the second time of abusing children.

Recorder Ben Nolan QC heard how Peter Noble, 39, targeted a seven-year-old Selby girl after her mother visited the pet shop where he was working to buy an animal for her and abused her many times over a lengthy period.

The paedophile already had convictions for child abuse, but because the latest offences were some years ago, the judge cannot lock him up indefinitely.

Instead, he told the CPS to draw up a sexual offences prevention order which will restrict Noble’s activities after his prison sentence, including any contact with children. The judge also plans to order the probation service to give Noble extra supervision after his release from prison.

Noble, of Wolsley Croft, Sherburn-in-Elmet, denied four sex charges, but a jury convicted him unanimously after a retirement of two-and-a-half hours.

“It has been a horrendous time for all of us,” said the child’s mother who was at York Crown Court, supported by friends, to see Noble convicted. She added that she was relieved by the verdict.

The judge told Noble: “You have been convicted on very clear evidence of these offences. It is not the first time you have appeared in court for sexual offences against children.”

At the start of the four-day trial, Paul Cleasby, for the prosecution, told the jury about the seven-year-old child, now a teenager: “Clearly what Peter Noble had done to her stayed with her and preyed on her mind.”

The child abuser got to know the girl through her mother. First he showed her graphic pornography on his mobile, then he abused her many times. He was convicted on three charges of indecent assault and one of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child. Noble claimed to police that he had very little to do with the girl, though he admitted knowing her mother. In the witness box, he repeated his denials of any improper behaviour.