A CONVICTED sex offender blasted a 20-bore shotgun through the living-room window of a house of those he blamed for spreading news that he was a paedophile.
Two-days after Adrian Thorsby, 49, was convicted of a sexual offence against a girl, he drove from his home in Rudston Walk, Burton Agnes, 25 miles to Kilnsea Grove, Hull, with a shotgun.
Thorsby pulled out the lethal firearm and shot a hole through glass in the downstairs font window of the p[roperty around 9am - with four children inside.
The family had no connection with the original victim, Hull Crown Court heard.
The occupants of the house, Lisa Thompson and Andrew Steen, would normally have been downstairs watching TV.
By chance, they were all upstairs and escaped injury - but were left terrified Thorsby would return. The shotgun has never been recovered.
Thorsby, who later denied ever leaving home, then made off towards Preston and drove north to Burton Agnes.
He was caught after police, who linked him to gunpowder residue, used satellite cellphone technology to trace the movements of Thorsby’s mobile phone down the A165 before and after the attack.
At the time of the offence on November 20 2011, Thorsby had been released on bail awaiting sentence for the original sexual offence.
Thorsby, who has fled from Burton Agnes, and now lives in Walsall, appeared at Hull Crown Court on Monday January 7 for a trial. With witnesses waiting to give evidence, he pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.
Defence barrister Rodney Ferm asked for the judge not to sentence until Thorsby had seen a probation officer from Bridlington who would prepare a report on his background.
“Mr Thorsby knows the inevitable nature of the sentence.”
Crown barrister David Hall said he wanted strict conditions that Thorsby would not return to the area and he should abide by a curfew from 9pm to 8am at his home in Walsall.
Recorder Richard Woolfall ordered Thorsby to stand as he told him: “The reality is you could be facing a custodial sentence. You must prepare yourself for that.”
Speaking outside court, Andrew Steen said: “He could have killed us. There were four children in the house – one of whom has cycstic fibrosis. We heard the blast but luckly we were upstairs and just happened to be arguing. Normally we would have been down stairs setting up the Wii for the children. One of the children is still having nightmares.”
Thorsby will be sentenced at Hull Crown Court on February 8. He faces up to five years in prison.