Dean Imperato 33

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A man repeatedly sexually assaulted a young child and offered her gifts of sweets if she was a "good girl", a court has heard.

Dean Imperato, who ran his own gardening and maintenance business, subjected his victim to years of abuse before the child reported the behaviour to her mother.

Cardiff Crown Court heard that the child at the centre of the abuse has gone from being a happy, confident, and outgoing little girl to someone who is anxious and self-conscious. The court heard that in April last year the child made disclosures to her mother that Imperato had touched her and the matter was reported to the police.

The youngster "broke down in tears" when officers spoke to her but the investigation later uncovered that the abuse had been going on for a prolonged period with the child saying it had happened "lots of times". The court heard there was an element of grooming to the offending with the 33-year-old defendant buying sweets for the child if she was a "good girl". The victim has lifelong legal anonymity.

In a statement from the victim's mother that was read to the court she said her daughter used to be a happy little girl but was now anxious and did not feel comfortable around boys and men. She said the day her daughter told her what had been happening "my whole world came crashing down" and she blames herself for not being able to protect her child.

Dean Imperato, of Marguerites Way, St Fagans, Cardiff, had previously pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual assault of a child under 13 when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has no previous convictions. Clare Wilkes, for Imperato, said in her submission it was unusual for a defendant to be as open with probation officers as the defendant had been and said given her client's childhood experiences "it is very much to be regretted that he had become a perpetrator". The barrister said the defendant suffered with mental health difficulties which he "could have dealt with better", adding those difficulties were not helped by his use of cannabis. She invited the court to pass a sentence that reflected the seriousness of the offending but was not one of a length that "crushed a man who still has a future ahead of him"

Judge Shomon Khan told Imperato he "sexually abused a little girl for your own sexual gratification" and in so doing had caused "immensurable harm" to the victim and her family. With a one-third discount for his guilty pleas the defendant was sentenced to six years in prison. The judge said he will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. Imperato will be a registered sex offender for the rest of his life and was made the subject of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.