Man jailed for girl sex attack in 1990s
A MAN has been jailed for sexually assaulting a girl more than two decades ago.
Former steelworker Stephen Ashton carried out the opportunistic offences as the child was going to school in Port Talbot.
Swansea Crown Court heard the offences happened in the late 1990s but it was only in 2018 that the victim felt able to report the matter to police.
Paul Hobson, prosecuting, said the offending involved Ashton putting his hand up his victim’s skirt and into her underwear. The girl was aged 13 or 14 at the time.
In an impact statement read to the court by the prosecutor the victim said the abuse had left her feeling stressed, anxious, and miserable, and that she hated the way her attacker “makes her look at the world and at men”.
Ashton, aged 59, of Cwmclais Road, Cwmavon, Port Talbot, had previously pleaded guilty to four counts of indecent assault when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has no previous convictions.
Robin Rouch, for Ashton, said there had been no repeat of the offending in the last two decades and the defendant had led a positive life in the years since.
Judge Catherine Richards told the defendant he had taken his “opportunity” to sexually assault his victim and the abuse had caused long-term harm.
Giving the defendant credit for his guilty pleas, she sentenced him to 81 months in prison. He will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence. He will be a registered sex offender for the rest of his life.