A man who sexually assaulted a child has been jailed for three years.

David Richman, of Landguard Road, Southampton, was convicted of four offences against a child under the age of 13.

Richman, 42, was sentenced at Southampton Crown Court this morning after being found guilty on four counts by a jury earlier this year.

Prosecuting, Chris Wing read out the victim’s impact statement.

It read: “I think about what he did to me sometimes before I go to bed. I wake up sweating and crying and I can’t get back to sleep because I am scared.

“I have also had nightmares of him raping me. When it’s quiet at night I can hear his voice. I am so scared to leave my bedroom at night.

“I started hurting myself after I told police what happened.

“I feel I am worth nothing. I am exhausted every day and I cry a lot.”

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Mitigating, David Richards said: “Mr Richman accepts he did it.

“Over the last three years he has been losing jobs and friendships as a result.

“There is remorse here which is unusual. He did have a troubled childhood, but nothing excuses what he did to the child.”

Richman was found guilty of three counts of sexual assault of a child under 13 and one count of causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity by a jury following a trial in April.

He denied all charges.

Passing sentence, Judge Nicholas Rowland said: “What you did was unforgivable.

“You, knowing full well you had abused her, as set out by the prosecution, still put her through this. There is limited mitigation.”

Richman was handed a three-year sentence and he has been placed on the sex offenders register.

Following the sentencing, police staff investigator Christopher Manning, from the Child Abuse Investigation Team, said: “First and foremost, I would like to praise this young victim for the bravery she has shown in ensuring this sexual offender has been brought to justice.

“Her courage also means that this offender is now behind bars and unable to abuse anyone else.

“I hope that this sentence goes some way to helping the victim move forward with her life.

“I also hope this sentence will reassure other victims that they will be listened to when reporting similar incidents to us.

“We encourage others who have suffered this type of abuse to come forward and speak to us.

“We take allegations of this nature extremely seriously and work hard to bring offenders to justice."