A PENSIONER has been banned from having unsupervised contact with children after he admitted sexually assaulting a woman with special needs.

John Jackson appeared at Alloa Sheriff Court last Thursday, June 27, after previously pleading guilty to two charges against him.

The charges state that between March 1, 2017 and September 3, 2017, at an address on Southcroft, Alva, Jackson sexually assaulted the woman who was incapable of consenting to sexual conduct due to a mental disorder.

It was amended to remove a section which alleged he touched her inappropriately and exposed himself to her.

A second charge states that between the same dates, Jackson committed an act of voyeurism against the woman by observing and recording her doing a private act with the intention of looking at, and did take photographs of her private parts.

Kelly Howe, representing the 80-year-old, told the court a criminal justice social work report suggested Jackson was “unaware” of the extent of the complainer’s mental capabilities.

Sheriff David Mackie sentenced Jackson to 18 months of supervision and banned him from having unsupervised contact with anyone under 16, or anyone with a mental disorder.

He also placed him on the Sex Offenders’ Register for the same period and granted a two year non-harassment order.

Speaking after the sentence was imposed, the victim's mother told the Advertiser about her anger at the outcome, and described the impact that Jackson's offences had had.

She said: "I wasn't very happy about it [the sentence].

"I thought he would have got tagged, but because of his health reasons he didn’t.

"My daughter couldn’t even go up the street, she was terrified in case she seen him.

"She was an active lass, and she used to go up the park with the dog, so it’s restricted her.

"And yet he sits in the local pub and acts like nothing’s happened – which angers me.”

She was also frustrated that her daughter was described as "mentally impaired" throughout the court process, preferring to describe her as someone with additional support needs.

However, she said she had found comfort in the fact Jackson cannot come near her daughter in future, and that he cannot hide from his crimes as "everyone knows" about his offences.