AN Aberystwyth man has been jailed for 15 years for a “significant and serious” string of sex offences against three young girls over a 12-year period.

Owain Llyr Thomas, of Garth Celyn, St Davids Road, had denied a series of historic sex offences, including sexual assault, gross indecency and inciting a girl under the age of 13 to engage in sexual activity.

One of the girls was under five years old when Thomas first started abusing her.

Judge Mervyn Hughes said the offending was “significant and serious” and when jailing Thomas, 39, for 15 years said the abuse had been devastating for the three victims.

He added: “It can be said that you’ve almost destroyed their lives.”

Thomas had pleaded not guilty to all charges but was convicted of 23 offences by jurors who took just one hour to come to unanimous guilty verdicts.

During Thomas’s trial, the court heard that the victims had “buried” what had happened to them before they later confided in adults they trusted.

Following his arrest Thomas had refused to answer police questions, but gave officers a prepared statement which claimed that all allegations were untrue.