A MAN freed after 27 years of wrongful imprisonment for the rape and murder of a Southampton woman has been spared a further jail term for sexually assaulting a young woman.

Sean Hodgson was released in 2009 after having his conviction for the rape and murder of Teresa De Simone in 1979 overturned.

Her body was found in her car at the rear of the Tom Tackle pub in Commercial Road, and Hodgson was sentenced three years later.

The 60-year-old was ordered to complete a three-year community order with supervision, to abide by a sexual offences prevention order until further notice and to sign on the sex offenders register for five years.

Hodgson had admitted sexually assaulting a vulnerable 22-year-old woman on August 12 last year, less than 18 months after his release.

Sentencing at Durham Crown Court, Judge Christopher Prince had warned Hodgson could be jailed for at least two years should he refuse to be bound by the court order.

He said he could impose a community-based sentence only if it put the public at no risk.

Hodgson, of Park Street, Willington, near Crook, County Durham, agreed to the order after taking legal advice from his barrister Martin Heslop.

Hodgson, who suffers from depression and schizophrenia, maintained his innocence throughout his incarceration, which prevented him from being paroled.

He was released in March 2009 after his conviction was quashed at London's Court of Appeal.

He launched a compensation bid against the Home Office for wrongful conviction and could be eligible for up to £1m.

He is understood to have received £250,000 so far.

In 2009, Ms De Simone's killer was named as David Lace, who committed suicide in 1988, aged 26.

His body was exhumed from a cemetery in Portsmouth in order for DNA tests to be carried out to confirm his identity.