Why was he on the streets?

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was speaking after Phillip Bargh, 28, was jailed for life for attacking his daughter on a secluded patch of wasteland behind a row of shops in Tang Hall, York.

He said: "At the end of the day he's an animal, and if an animal did something like this it would be put down.

"A lot of the time the justice system does work in this country. But now and again it lets people down and I think this is one of those times. There's something not right in a system where somebody like this can do it, get let out, and then do it again."

As reported in later editions of yesterday's Evening Press, Bargh took the girl into a secluded alleyway off Eighth Avenue after watching her play with friends on a playing field after finishing school.

He produced a knife and forced her to remove her underwear, but when she repeatedly asked to be freed he panicked and let her go.

York Crown Court heard that although Bargh was responsible for a string of sex offences involving young children, he was free to travel to York and stalk youngsters.

In 1996, he was jailed for four years after a sickeningly similar attack in which he forced a young girl into a school toilet in Acomb and made her take off her trousers.

In 2002 he was tracked by police as he travelled in South Bank and Heworth watching young children. In court he was described as a "predatory paedophile" who needed to be watched constantly.

Then last summer he was caught following girls home from school and taking photographs of them in Fulford and Stamford Bridge. He was jailed for six months for harassment. In court yesterday, barrister Christopher Tehrani hit out at the Government, which he said had failed to provide enough funds for treating serious sex offenders like his client.

He said: "The lack of funds made available by the Government to treat people in Bargh's position has resulted in the Government failing the victims in this case."

He said Bargh had to wait six months to go on a sex offender's rehabilitation programme after being released from custody in August last year.

Speaking after the case, the girl's father said Bargh should not just have got more treatment, but a longer sentence in the first place.

He said: "He definitely should've got a longer sentence and it seems like the treatment let him down. But that doesn't make me feel any sympathy for him whatsoever.

"You would think with all the modern procedures they would have been able to find a way of stopping him. All I can say is, thank God there are not more of that type of people around."

But he paid tribute to the police investigation, which snared Bargh in a matter of days, helped by CCTV footage from a Fourth Avenue store which showed him with the girl. He said that officers had dealt with his daughter very sensitively and he was impressed with the speed and efficiency of the operation as his family struggled to come to terms with what had happened. He said: "When she came home and told us what had happened, she was shocked, scared and terrified. She thought she had done something wrong.

"That was one thing we had to make sure of. That she understood she had done nothing wrong and this was in no way her fault. It was that animal, for want of a better word. It scared the living daylights out of us. But she's got over it now, she's bounced back really well. She's back to school and everybody's been great."

Trapped by state-of-art security TV at shops

FOOTAGE placing Phillip Bargh in an alleyway where a young girl was taken and subjected to a terrifying ordeal was captured on a new state-of-the art CCTV system.

The equipment had only been installed the week before.

Police were alerted on the day of the abduction at about 7pm on Monday, July 18 and specially-trained officers were called on to interview the young victim.

Meanwhile, officers at Fulford Road Police Station in York were busy searching through ViSOR - a national violent and sexual offenders register - in a bid to find suspects matching early details of the offender's description.

They narrowed their search the following morning when the young girl gave more information about her assailant's age, and also revealed that he had held a knife in his left hand.

Bargh, a youthful-looking 27-year-old, was known to be left-handed, and was familiar with the area of the abduction, having previously lived about half-a-mile away on Fourth Avenue in Tang Hall.

Those facts, coupled with his previous convictions, led officers to the doorstep of his registered address in Stamford Bridge early on Wednesday, July 20, with an arrest warrant.

Detective Sergeant Nigel Costello, pictured, who led the investigation, said: "The girl gave a good description. You start thinking of people you know who have done previous offences like that. Bargh's name came to the forefront fairly early. We appealed for witnesses. We had people in mind, but you don't try and put all your eggs in one basket in case you are off the mark."

Det Sgt Costello said Bargh had been "very compliant" when interviewed, and intimated he had been at the Fourth Avenue shops at the time of the offence.

But he denied, when questioned, having ventured into the alleyway behind the shops.

"He wasn't aware that the CCTV from the newsagents covered the alleyway.

"It shows him wandering up and down there, and walking into the wasteland. And there was evidence of the girl being in the area," said Det Sgt Costello.

"The CCTV was only a week old. It was state-of-the art."

Det Con Alan Rowan, also involved in the case, said the CCTV footage had provided "a breakthrough" in the evidence-gathering and paid tribute to the shop owner for his help.

Det Sgt Costello added: "The CCTV was Bargh's downfall. I don't think he realised it was there. Without it, it would have been more difficult.

"The young girl took part in an identity procedure and picked him out.

"She is a star. Not only has he put her through the ordeal on the night, he has made her go through an identity procedure so that she was confronted with his image again.

"Anyone who can do that to a little girl has no feeling."

Commending the girl's bravery, he said: "It is remarkable how young children cope. She is very brave and deserves a lot of credit for what she has been through and her actions.

"Even though she was put through the ordeal, she had the common sense and understanding of fear to go home and tell her mum who quickly notified the police so we could start investigating promptly and gather information while it was fresh.

"This is the sort of job that makes you proud to do what you do because it makes it worthwhile when we come to work and put people like that away."

Agency to study facts of the case

DETECTIVE Chief Superintendent David Hunter is the chairman of Humberside Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangments (MAPPA), which is responsible for supervising dangerous offenders.

He said the group would study the Bargh case to see if any lessons could be learned for the future management of other sex offenders.

He denied that Bargh did not attend a course because of lack of money.

The difficulty was more to do with his new address in Stamford Bridge and the problem of putting him on a local programme.

It was agreed that the cost of transportation to Hull to do the programme would be paid for by the Probation Service (Humberside).

Bargh completed a sex offender programme in May 2004.

Following his move, it was decided he should undertake part of it again, but he re-offended.

On release he was ordered to do an entire programme again, not necessarily because it would change his behaviour, but because it would lead to close monitoring.

Det Chief Supt Hunter said: "The gap between his release and restarting the programme was not about cost but more about administration and instead of starting the course in February, he was due to start the course in late spring. During this gap he was monitored by local police and probation officers. While it is inappropriate to deal with all of the specific tactics used in this case, it can be confirmed that a whole range of measures were deployed.

"For example, local schools in Humberside and North Yorkshire were informed and Mr Bargh received regular visits from police and probation officers

"However people managed by MAPPA are the most dangerous offenders and they will from time to time re-offend.

"The strategic management board which oversees the local MAPPA will examine this case to ensure that any experiences gained can be used in the management of current and future cases."

Updated: 12:08 Tuesday, November 01, 2005