A REMORSELESS sex attacker is starting a prison sentence for abusing a teenage girl.

Colin Perks still denies doing anything wrong – despite apologising to his victim immediately afterwards.

He handed himself into the police when he heard allegations were being made against him, but told officers they were not true.

Perks, 49, had a trial at Teeside Crown Court and forced the girl to relive her ordeal by giving evidence.

He was found guilty of three charges of sexual assault, and is now starting a 30-month jail sentence.

Judge Simon Bourne-Arton, QC, told him: "I have no idea what possessed you to behave as you did. You have been hard-working and led an otherwise blameless life."

Perks's victim told in a statement how the abuse has left her unable to go out alone, and afraid to be at home by herself.

She said: "I struggle to trust anyone now, and worry something else bad will happen.

"The court process has been stressful and frightening, but what upsets me the most is why he put me through it when he could have just admitted what he did."

Shaun Dryden, mitigating, said: "The incident will have been traumatic, but, thankfully, towards the end, Mr Perks seems to have desisted voluntarily and apologised.

"He maintains his denials, but he can be sentenced as if this was a one-off incident where he completely lost all judgement and good sense, and ruined his reputation.

"On the Crown's evidence, this appears to be the case where the defendant, for reasons he can't or won't explain, behaved disgracefully for a short period of time."

Perks, of Trentham Avenue, Middlesbrough, will have to sign the sex offenders' register for ten years.