Raymond Casson exposed himself to the child as she played on her scooter outside her grandmother’s house in Buckland, Portsmouth.

The 46-year-old denied the offence and claimed he had been adjusting his uncomfortable underwear at the time.

But he was found guilty by a jury after a trial at Portsmouth Crown Court.

Judge Richard Price criticised Casson’s version of events.

He said: ‘The defence that you put before the jury was, bluntly, ridiculous.

‘When you gave your evidence you did so in a thoroughly arrogant and disdainful way.

‘If you had pleaded guilty that little girl would not have had to go through the ordeal of giving evidence.

‘You could and should have spared her that.’

Casson had flashed at the girl on a sunny day in July last year.

The youngster – who cannot be named for legal reasons – ran inside in a hysterical state to tell her family what had happened.

While her mum called the police the grandmother went to look for the culprit.

She then found Casson staring at children in a nearby play area.

Casson – who has previous convictions for possessing child pornography and sexual assaults on children – was the subject of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order at the time of the incident.

This order banned him from approaching children and going on the internet.

He was found guilty of exposure and breaching the order.

In jailing him, Judge Price praised the girl for her bravery during the trial.

‘The jury took a very short time to accept her evidence,’ he said.

‘That is entirely unsurprising. Not only was she a convincing witness but the description she gave of you was such a good description that her grandmother was able to follow you.’

Casson, of Arragon Court, Waterlooville, will be on the sex offenders’ register for life.

Elisabeth Bussey-Jones, defending, said that even after his conviction Casson still insisted he was innocent.

Detective Constable Andy Larder, of Portsmouth CID, welcomed the lengthy prison sentence handed down by the judge.

‘I’m pleased with the result and I know the family will be pleased as well,’ he said.

‘The girl was very brave during the trial and gave an exact and accurate account.

‘I would agree with the judge on Casson’s version of events.’

December 2007

MAN JAILED FOR GROPING GIRLS IN CITY SHOPS

A FORMER Whitehaven toy shop owner who lurked in clothes shops in Carlisle to touch young girls has been jailed for 16 months.

Forty-three-year-old Raymond Casson, formerly of Lamplugh and now living in Harraby, Carlisle, surveyed shops in the city centre to choose the best ones for spotting young girls, Carlisle Crown Court heard on Friday.

He visited the shops in his lunch hour and while off work, and touched young girls on several occasions over six months.

Casson, who has two previous convictions for having indecent pictures of children in 1999 and 2004, told police he liked girls aged between 11 and 16 “rather than his own age”, the court heard.

A 12-year-old girl was targeted by him in October last year when she was in New Look with two older cousins. He approached her and felt her bottom. Some months later a 13-year-old girl alerted shop staff in the same store after he squeezed her bottom, the court heard.

“He would go in to the shops every lunch hour from January 2006,” defence barrister Alison Whalley said.

Casson, who owned a toy shop in Whitehaven a few years ago, was arrested in September after police viewed CCTV of a similar incident in H&M, in The Lanes.

Then, in October this year, he approached two 10-year-old girls in Brampton and asked them a rude question.

Sentencing Casson, who admitted two offences of sexual assault and a public order offence, recorder Tim Holroyde QC described him as a calculating and persistent offender.

Recorder Mr Holroyde said the crimes were aggravated by the fact that Casson “carefully planned” them with reconnaissance trips.

“He hoped to be able to pass it off as an accidental contact if anyone challenged him,” he added.

Casson, who asked for seven offences to be taken into consideration, was ordered to re-register as a sex offender and banned from living with a child under 18, working with children or having access to the internet.