Man assaults children at reserve

and assault on a child.

He also pleaded guilty to breaching his intensive supervision conditions which required that he was not to have unsupervised contact with any person under 16 years of age.

Taylor River Reserve is popular with dog walkers and children making their way to school.

About 4pm on June 18, Souness was fishing on Taylor River adjacent to a pedestrian walkway, a police summary of facts said.

About this time, a 14-year-old girl and her 7-year-old brother, were walking along the walkway together. Souness and the victims were not known to each other.

Souness went over to the 14-year-old and touched her buttocks on the outside of her clothing. She told him to stop, the summary said. He then proceeded to poke her with his fingers about her ribs, breasts, buttocks and genitalia multiple times.

Once Souness stopped doing this he began speaking with the 7-year-old victim.

Souness punched him to the left arm, kicked and kneed him to the right leg and gave him a ‘‘Chinese burn’’.

The 7-year-old victim ran to his older sister crying. A passerby came along who knew the victims shortly after the defendant left the area. When spoken to by police, Souness denied touching the victim’s buttocks. He admitted to poking the 14-year-old once to the ribs and once to the arm.

He admitted to grabbing the 7-year-old’s arm by two hands.

Souness was sentenced to 24 months intensive supervision on April 15 for indecently assaulting a girl under 12-years-old.

A special condition of the sentence was that he was not to associate or have any contact with any person under 16 years of age except in the presence and under supervision.

Judge Bill Hastings ordered a pre-sentence report with a home detention appendices.