A MAN has been sentenced to 12 months in prison for three historic sexual offences.

Stephen Shield, 53, of Balmoral Road, Lancaster, was found guilty last month of three counts of indecent assault following a trial at Preston Crown Court.

He was sentenced on Friday December 13

Police said the three allegations related to a man aged between 17-24 years and said the offences were committed between 1985 and 1992.

Det Sgt Alex Gornall, of Lancashire Police, said: “I am pleased with the sentence. The victim in this case had lived with the knowledge of Mr Shield’s offending for a long period of time; this has had a significant impact upon him and I just hope that this provides some sort of closure and that he can move on with the rest of his life.

"It was a difficult decision for the victim to come forward and I am please that he felt confident enough in the constabulary to help bring this man to justice.

“The fact that these convictions come a long time after they were committed shows that we will always take any allegations of sexual abuse extremely seriously and will investigate them thoroughly no matter how long ago they happened.

“I would encourage people with any information about sexual abuse or who has been a victim of sexual abuse to come forward and report their concerns confident in the knowledge it will be investigated appropriately and with sensitivity.”