A MAN has been jailed for seven years for sexual offences against a brother and sister.

George Cardno, 28, of no fixed address, was found guilty of a string of offences against the pair at Peterborough Crown Court on May 26.

The boy, now 17, was 11 at the time the offences took place between February and November 2004. In relation to these offences, he was found guilty of attempted rape of a boy aged under 13, sexual assault and causing or inciting a boy under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

The girl, now 13, was assaulted between late 2004, when she was seven, and early 2007. In relation to these offences, he was found guilty of sexual assault and causing or inciting a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

The court heard the victims came to know Cardno through a relative. All the offences happened in Peterborough.

He was arrested in September last year after the boy told his mother what was happening.

Today (June 23), Cardno was jailed at Peterborough Crown Court and told he would be placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

He was sentenced to seven years on the attempted rape charge, five years, to run concurrently, for the sexual assault of the 13-year-old girl. Shorter sentences for the other offences were also to run concurrently.

Cardno was told he was to have no unsupervised contact with children under 16 for life.

DC Dave Connelly, who investigated the case, said: “These offences left the victims and their family shocked and traumatised but Cardno refused to admit what he had done.

“Cardno is a danger to children and that is reflected in the sentence handed down today.”