A FORMER youth centre volunteer has been branded an "evil monster" after he was convicted of sexually abusing two young girls.

Wheelchair-bound Reginald Lane, 82, attacked the youngsters when he was aged in his mid to late 70s, some years after stepping down from his role at the Bourne Valley Youth Centre.

One of the girls' fathers has now spoken out about the impact of Lane's abuse.

"I'm just glad the girls were brave enough to come forward and tell their families what had happened," he said.

"For Lane to drag them both through a trial just shows exactly what kind of person he is.

"He only cares about himself."

Lane helped out at the youth centre and associated play group from the 1970s until around a decade ago.

His convictions are not related to his work at the centre.

The defendant had denied 13 counts relating to the abuse of the children.

However, on Friday, April 1, he was convicted of a number of the offences by a jury sitting at Bournemouth Crown Court.

A majority of ten jurors to two convicted Lane of assault on a girl aged under 13 by penetration and four counts of sexual activity with a child.

The defendant was convicted unanimously of three counts of sexual activity with a child.

He was cleared of one further count of assault of a child under 13 by penetration and four further counts of the sexual assault of a child aged under 13.

All of the counts upon which Lane was cleared were 'multiple incident' charges alleging 20 or more incidents per charge.

The defendant, of Rossmore Road in Poole, committed the offences against one of the victims on dates between February 2009 and February 2012.

The second was targeted between January and March 2013.

Lane sat behind a table in court rather than in the dock as the trial progressed.

After the verdicts were delivered, he begged a judge to consider his medical history before putting his head on the table and bursting into tears.