Jailed: Sex fiend who preyed on children at Sheffield's Meadowhall

Karl Snow, 29, admitted sexually assaulting three girls aged 12, 13 and 15 near a school.

He was found guilty at a trial of another two assaults, on one 11 and one 12-year-old girl, which both took place at Meadowhall.

He has been sentenced to 20 months in prison for five counts of sexual assault against girls, who were all under the age of 16.

The incidents happened between March 2013 and April 2015.

The court heard that during one of the incidents at the shopping centre, Snow grabbed the bottom of an 11-year-old girl and then offered to buy her whatever she wanted in return for sex.

Prosecuting, Hannah Lynch, read out a victim impact statement from the youngster in which she said the young girl no longer felt safe going to the shopping centre without an adult.

The statement said: “At the time I was left really scared and very shocked, I was instantly in tears.

“I used to enjoy going to Meadowhall, it was somewhere I felt safe and after the incident I didn’t go back for five or six months because I was scared I would bump into him again.”

Snow, from Doncaster, was sentenced to 20 months in prison and Recorder Andrew Baker QC told he posed a “serious risk to young girls”.

Sheffield Crown Court heard how, in the first assault, Snow followed a 12-year-old girl as she walked home from school and indecently assaulted her before walking away without saying anything.

In June 2013, Snow indecently assaulted a 13-year-old girl near school before saying, ‘You’re sexy’ and running away.

Three days later, the vile pervert assaulted a 15-year-old girl as she walked to school.

Snow was caught on CCTV at Meadowhall following his final victim, a 12-year-old girl, before grabbing her bottom.

Mitigating, Gordon Stables said Snow had no previous convictions and added he felt “utter shame and embarrassment” for his actions.

Recorder Andrew Baker QC said two of the incidents had been aggravated by verbal comments made by Snow.

Snow was also made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order for five years, put on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years and banned from working with children indefinitely.