2010: YARMOUTH MAN JAILED FOR CHILD SEX ASSAULT AND INDECENT IMAGES
A MAN who admitted sexually assaulting a child under 16 and making indecent photos of the victim has been jailed for more than two years and put on the sex offenders register for life.Stephen Damon, 55, appeared at Norwich Crown Court for sentence last week, having pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault of a child under 16 and three counts of making indecent images of a child under 13 at an earlier hearing.
Damon, of Camden Road, Great Yarmouth, was sentenced to two years and eight months for the sexual assault and six months for each of the making indecent images charges, to run concurrently.
Damon was also made the subject of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) restricting his contact with children under 16 for 10 years and ordered not to have any contact with the victim for 10 years.
Lindsay Cox, prosecuting, said the defendant had been a friend of the victim's family and had been a “frequent visitor to their home” and that the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had also visited his home on several occasions.
The court heard that at the end of June last year, following a family day out at Bewilderwood where the defendant had been present, the victim asked if she could visit Damon, and her mother agreed.
About three weeks later the girl told her mother that the defendant had touched her and taken photographs of her.
Mr Cox said: “He told her not to tell anyone.” He said the victim then described how the defendant took pictures of her before uploading them to the computer from his camera.
The victim also described Damon pulling a blow-up doll from the wardrobe in front of her and telling her he had it because he did not have a girlfriend.
Damon was arrested on July 23 and had his computer seized.
Two blow-up dolls were removed from his wardrobe and the computer was found to contain two level one images and one level three image.
Danielle O'Donovan, mitigating, said Damon should be given credit for his early guilty plea and said he was “deeply ashamed”.
She said: “He asked me to relay to the court that he was completely wrong.
It was completely his fault and he really, really regrets his actions.” Sentencing Damon, Judge Paul Downes said they were serious offences which had been aggravated by the breach of trust he demonstrated.
