Locations
Lower Henley Road, Caversham, Reading, Berkshire, RG4
Description
A BUILDER who sexually assaulted a seven-year-old girl on his way to pick up a toolkit from Screwfix has been sent to prison.
Martin Collins, formerly of Lower Henley Road, Caversham, was locked up after being found guilty of two counts of sexual assault of a child under 13 back in April.
A court heard how the builder has been ostracized by his friends and his home has been graffitied following his convictions.
And now he is facing three years behind bars after being sentenced for his offences at Reading Crown Court.
The 66-year-old abused the seven-year-old girl on two occasions over the 2019/2020 Christmas period.
In the first instance, Collins was found to have touched the girls genitals over her clothes while she was sitting on his lap.
On the second occasion, the girl was sitting in the front passenger seat of Collins car when they were on their way to Screwfix to pick up a toolkit.
It was here in the car that Collins again touched the girls genitals over her clothes.
Reading a statement from the girls mother, prosecutor Simon Walters said the girls personality has changed since the incidents.
He said: Her anger outbursts are extreme. She can become angry over the smallest of things.
She will kick, shout and scream.
She no longer trusts people and does not have normal interactions with people.
She has nightmares and recently she said she didnt want to go back to the area where the [Screwfix] store is located.
She is not the girl she was two years ago.
These incidents will affect my daughter for a very long time to come.
Defending, Lyall Thompson argued there was no evidence to suggest Collins manipulated the girl to engineer his being along with her.
He claimed Collins has suffered since the court trial in April, losing all his friends and his house has been graffitied.
Sentencing, his honour Judge Edward Burgess told Collins he was in a position of trust when he committed the offences.
Collins was sentenced to three years imprisonment for two counts of sexual assault of a child under the age of 13.
His name will be on the sex offenders register for ten years.
Collins was sentenced at Reading Crown Court on Monday, November 1.