Man jailed for abducting and sexually assaulting 12-year-old boy

Nottinghamshire Police said Tony Spilsbury, 76, approached the boy in Bulwell's Market Place

A man who abducted and sexually assaulted a 12-year-old boy in Nottingham has been jailed.

Police said Tony Spilsbury, 76, approached the boy in Bulwell's Market Place on the morning of 11 July.

He asked the child to help him with his van before driving to a secluded area of a car park and assaulting him.

The retired builder, of Fernleigh Avenue, Mapperley, pleaded guilty to sexual assault by touching and was jailed for four years and eight months.

Nottinghamshire Police said CCTV caught Spilsbury "making a beeline" for the boy after spotting him alone.

He was arrested, but claimed the boy had approached him asking for money and that he was merely giving him a lift home.

'Level of cunning'

Spilsbury also said the victim had initiated the contact with him after he bent into the passenger footwell to pick up a loose bar of chocolate.

Although he was not convicted of a specific offence of child abduction, Spilsbury admitted to taking the boy as part of his guilty plea.

Det Con Stephen Dunn said: "Spilsbury displayed a high level of cunning and premeditation in the moments leading up to this attack - striding confidently towards the boy and engaging him in conversation.

"As Spilsbury begins a significant jail sentence, I would also like to pay tribute to the victim in this case for the bravery he showed throughout the investigation."