A NEWPORT man was given a four year prison sentence after he was found guilty of sexually assaulting a child.

Christopher Heffernan, 22, of East Usk Road, was found guilty of three counts of sexual assault of a child under 13 and appeared at Cardiff Crown Court on Thursday where he was sentenced.

Judge Christopher Llewellyn Jones QC said he accepted that each assault was on the whole “fairly brief” but said he had obviously hurt her and did not pursue the assault further when she said ‘ouch’.

Marion Lewis, defending, said Heffernan’s relative youth and immaturity was demonstrated in the witness box and also in a pre-sentence report.

She said he has no previous convictions and said the author of the pre-sentence report had expressed concern about how he would cope in custody.

Ms Lewis said Heffernan’s childhood and upbringing had not been without problems.

The court heard he was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactvity disorder at eight-years-old and received treatment and medication until he left school.

She said he has been in employment since he left school and had been living independently for about a year.

But she said all of that has now been lost.

Judge Llewellyn Jones praised his brave victim and said: “She was a beautiful young girl, she is an enormous credit to her mother.”

The judge sentenced Heffernan to four years in prison with each count to run concurrently.

Heffernan must also register under the Sexual Offences Act for life and is banned from working with children or vulnerable adults for life.

A sexual offences prevention order was also imposed on Heffernan for life prohibiting him from being in a room with a female child under 16 unless the child’s parent or legal guardian is present.

The judge said it was also his intention that Heffernan complete a sexual offenders' treatment programme.