Louth paedophile, 33, jailed for over three years

Graham Horrocks, 33, of Old School Court, denied he had indecently touched the girl but was found guilty by a jury following a trial earlier this year.

Judge Simon Hirst, passing sentence, told him: “Plainly your offending is so serious that only a custodial sentence can be justified.”

Horrocks denied sexual assault of a child under the age of 13 on a single occasion but was found guilty by the jury.

He was cleared by the jury of a second charge of sexual assault of the child on at least 10 further occasions.

The charges both related to the period between December 2016 and May 2018.

Horrocks was placed on the sex offenders’ register for life and given an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.

He was also barred from working with children and vulnerable people.

Mark Achurch, prosecuting, said that the girl complained in May 2018 that she had been sexually abused by Horrocks.

As a result Horrocks was arrested and interviewed by officers. He denied he had committed any offence against the girl.

In a video recorded interview presented to the jury, the girl went on to describe what had happened to her.

Richard Canning, in mitigation, told the court: “This is his first conviction and it will be his first custodial sentence.

“It will hit him hard. He will inevitably lose his job.

“He appreciates that for anybody convicted of an offence of this type it will be imprisonment. The only question is the length of sentence.”