May 2005

Scoutmaster jailed for girls kiss

A Lincolnshire scoutmaster has been jailed for six months after molesting two girls at a camp in the county.

Lincoln Crown Court heard Douglas Merrett, 36, from Willoughton near Gainsborough, was drunk when he went into the children’s tent.

He tried to kiss the girls aged 12 and 13 and touch one of them.

The court was told Merrett, who admitted three charges of sexual activity with a child, was drunk on a cocktail of beer and spirits.

Judge Andrew Hamilton ordered him to register as a sex offender and banned him from working with children.