Nicholas Manning 50

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A Grantham man who was convicted of sexually assaulting an under-age girl was today (Friday August 16) jailed for 11 years.

Nicholas Manning, 50, of Edwards Street, was found guilty of three charges of assault by touching of a girl under 13 years old after an eight day trial at Lincoln Crown Court in July.

The jury also convicted Manning of a single charge of of assault by penetration of a girl under 13 years old - but cleared him of two other charges of rape and assault by touching.

All the offences occurred over one day in January this year.

In an impact statement which was read out in court the victim described how she now had difficulty sleeping and suffered both flashbacks and problems eating.

Emotionally, she described finding the incidents difficult to talk about and said she was now less sociable.

The girl's mother described how the court process had left her feeling numb and sick, and impacted her daughter's schooling.

"It broke my heart to see her go through it," she added.

Chris Jeyes, mitigating for Manning, argued the psychological impact on the victim was not in the most severe category.

Mr Jeyes also argued Manning had not deliberately used alcohol to facilitate the offences.

"This is a defendant with no similar previous convictions," Mr Jeyes added.

Passing sentence Judge Catarina Sjolin Knight told Manning his victim was vulnerable and repeatedly assaulted while she drifted in and out of consciousness.

"There was clearly a great impact from your offending," Judge Sjolin Knight added.

Manning was also made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and will have to register as a Sex Offender for life.