Man spared jail after sexually assaulting young girl

JON MACPHERSON

A MAN who sexually assaulted a young girl by touching her chest has been spared jail.

Cristian Rosu, of Sultan Street, Accrington, hugged the victim while watching a film before ‘squeezing’ her chest for over one minute, a court heard.

Prosecutor Emma Kehoe said the girl ‘didn’t like it and nudged him away’ before fleeing and contacting her mum for help.

Preston Crown Court heard the victim was left ‘feeling sick’ after the incident and police were contacted later the same day.

When officers arrested Rosu he denied the allegations and said ‘nothing untoward had happened’.

A victim impact statement read out at court told how the girl was ‘very frightened’.’

Plastics factory worker Rosu, 43, pleaded guilty to sexual assault of a child and was given a 15-month jail sentence, suspended for two years with a community order, a 40-day rehabilitation activity requirement focusing on ‘specialist sex offender work’ and 150 hours unpaid work.

He was also given a sexual harm prevention order and ordered to sign the sex offenders register, both for 10 years.

Defence barrister Simon Mintz said Rosu had travelled alone from Romania to the UK in 2015 in advance of his family and was ‘socially isolated’.

He told the court that the victim had shown ‘commendable resilience’ and the effects of the incident ‘don’t appear to have been profound’.

Mr Mintz said Rosu deserved credit for his guilty plea and ‘sparing [the victim] the ordeal of a court visit or a trial’.

He said: “Until this offence he led an exemplary life.

“His wife said he has been a good husband to her. There would be hardship caused by his imprisonment.

“He would also fall into the category of automatic deportation should he receive a custodial sentence.”

Judge Phillip Parry said there was ‘not doubt [Rosu] hugged her so he could touch her [chest].”

He said: “In the pre-sentence report you can offer no real explanation.

“It’s a real of concern to the probation service and to me how this all might have ended up were it not for the presence of mind of [the victim].

“It clearly crosses the custodial threshold but there are factors which allow me to suspend any period of imprisonment.”