A pensioner who exposed himself to a young girl while making monkey faces has been jailed for seven months.
The girl, who was aged seven or eight at the time, was not believed when she told her parents what Alan Grimley was doing.
But police were called after her father caught the 83-year-old pulling up his trousers.
Grimley, who had a previous conviction for touching the breast of a vulnerable woman at a care home, was convicted of two charges of exposure – one related to between five and seven earlier offences and the other to when the father discovered his crimes.
Grimley had been cleared of more serious charges of engaging in sexual activity in front of a child.
Prosecutor Tim Forster said that at some time in June 2011 the girl told her mother that she had seen Grimley with his trousers down.
Her parents did nothing at that time, but later that month the girl saw him exposing himself and “making monkey faces”.
When her father appeared Grimley looked as if he had just pulled up his trousers.
“He seemed shocked or sheepish” – but then spoke to the father as if nothing had happened, said Mr Forster.
The police were called and the girl told officers Grimley had done “rude things” in front of her a number of times.
When questioned Grimley denied anything had happened, saying he may have been adjusting his trousers.
Defending, Katrina Charles said Grimley, who suffered from ill-health and was the carer for his wife, planned to move away from Hemel Hempstead.
Judge Stephen Warner said: “This was deliberate, repeated conduct for your own gratification. The distress caused to the girl was great.”
Grimley must register as a sex offender for 10 years and was subjected to a restraining order preventing him from being in the girl’s presence.