A PERVERT who molested a girl while she was on a sleepover at his home has been jailed for more than three years.

Swindon jurors took less than five hours to find John Dunne guilty of two counts of sexual assault.

The trial heard the 54-year-old was living in a Swindon maisonette having split with the mother of his daughter. The girl stayed with him on occasional weekends.

In summer 2011 the victim went for a sleepover with Dunne’s daughter at his home.

The complainant’s memory of the details was limited, but Dunne himself thought the she would probably have come over around 3pm and played with dolls before eating dinner then falling asleep while watching a film in his daughter’s bedroom.

Dunne, a lorry driver, claimed he would not have drunk alcohol as he was looking after the children.

The victim, who was aged nine or 10 at the time, told jurors she was given beer by the older man and he kissed her on the lips between sips.

She remembered being in bed but claimed to have later woken up in Dunne’s bed.

The older man was lying behind her, with his hand feeling her stomach and chest beneath her pyjama top. Asked what he was doing, he said he was “looking for her bellybutton.”.The girl, now 18, told jurors: “I was scared and I froze and I went back to sleep.”

Dunne had made searches on his computer for sex abuse images of children and admitted possession of a number of vile images, including some in the most serious category.

He said he had been sexually abused by an older man when he was growing up in Ireland and had searched the internet to try and understand why adults might molest children.

David Maunder, defending, acknowledged his client was “messed up”.

The professional driver denied assault. He claimed a back injury meant he would have been unable to pick up the child and carry her to his bed.

Dunne, of Westwood Road, Southampton, was sentenced to three years and three months imprisonment.

Reacting to the sentence imposed last week, a spokesman for the NSPCC said: “Dunne was supposed to be caring for his daughter’s friend but instead assaulted her for his own sexual gratification.

“His actions will have had a devastating impact on the young girl involved and we commend her bravery and courage in speaking out about what happened to her.”

“Not only has he been held to account for what he did as a result, but it highlights that no matter how long ago the abuse took place, victims will always be listened to.”