A 62-year-old Swindon man has been sentenced to six years in prison after indecently assaulting a young girl on numerous occasions thirty years ago.

Paul Lowden from Beverley, Toothill was sentenced at Southampton Crown Court on Wednesday, June 14 where he was found guilty on three counts of sexual offences against a child under the age of 13 during the 1980s.

The multiple incidents of sexual touching and indecency took place over a number of years while the child was between four and eight years old.

Det Con Helen Bott from Swindon CID said: “We welcome this sentencing, as it reflects the seriousness of these offences and the impact they have had on the person involved.

“I'd like to thank the victim for being so courageous in coming forward in the first place and recounting what was obviously a very distressing and traumatic time in her life.

"I hope this result gives some closure and enables her to move on with her life knowing justice has been done.

“Whilst we often refer to incidents like these as ‘historic’ they are very much in the here and now for many victims and always leave an everlasting mark.

"Victims should not feel it’s too late to report this type of crime. We have specialist officers trained at dealing with these types of incidents and I would encourage anyone who has been a victim to contact us.

"We will investigate, provide you with the full support you need and do all that we can to bring to justice offenders like Paul Lowden.”

Contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Victims can also seek support and counselling from the Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) based at the New Swindon Sanctuary - they can be contacted on the 24-hour helpline 0808 168 0024.