A MAN from Accrington who took sexual advantage of two youngsters has been jailed for 12 years.

Darren Hollis, 40, tried to rape a teenage boy on at least two occasions, Burnley Crown Court was told.

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Jailing him, Judge Andrew Woolman said: “It was as close to rape as you can get without committing the offence.”

Only the boy’s resistance had prevented Hollis from carrying out the full offence, the judge said.

Hollis, of Chestnut Grove, was convicted of two offences of attempted rape, and four charges of causing or inciting the same boy to engage in sexual activity. He was also found guilty of sexually assaulting a girl, when she was aged eight or nine.

Judge Woolman said he had considered whether to pass an extended sentence, in respect of Hollis, to protect the public from serious harm.

But the judge said he was convinced, after hearing the circumstances of the case, that the defendant would continue to be monitored by the police for a significant period after his release, and would never be allowed unsupervised contact with children again.

Hollis, who was said to be an opportunist offender, was also ordered to sign the Sex Offender Register for life. A sexual harm prevention order, restricting his access to children, was also imposed.

The judge said: “It was a gross abuse of trust but I could not conclude that he had engineered the situation.”

Peter Cadwallader, defending, said there was little which could be said about the offences, given the jury’s verdicts.

But Mr Cadwallader told the court that there was a clear distinction between attempted rape and the full offence of rape, which should be reflected in his client’s sentence.

Mr Cadwallader said: “He has never been to prison before and he is facing a lengthy sentence, he accepts that. The combination of a substantial sentence plus the preventive orders that will be imposed will be sufficient so that an extended sentence would not be necessary.”