Carried out sex attack on five-year-old girl.

Married Man Jailed for Sex Attack on Five-Year-Old Girl

A married man who committed a sex attack on a five-year-old girl in a toilet has been jailed for six years.

Stephen Manley, 34, of Well Meadow, Hyde, was convicted of a single count of sex assault and was also ordered to sign the sex offenders register for an indefinite period of time.

Manley, who has no previous convictions, denied the offence but was found guilty by a jury after a trial. He will also be on licence for 12 months after his release from prison.

The attack took place in Dukinfield, Tameside, where Manley had been painting at a house.

Huw Edwards, prosecuting, said the girl was playing in the garden with another girl and went to the toilet. Manley went into the toilet to ask if she needed help, Mr Edwards said. Judge Jonathan Foster QC said he took advantage of her presence.

The court heard the girl gave accurate descriptions of Manley's tattoos and paint on his body. She gave evidence at the trial.

Judge Foster QC said: "There was no direct corroboration of her evidence but she made a complaint of sorts to her friend that something had happened and complained to her mother when she got home. She described distinctive features of the man who had done this. You had tattoos and had been painting. At the end of the day the jury convicted you and that is what I have to follow. She was a very young child of five years of age and it has affected her psychologically."

Paul McDonald, defending Manley, said: "The defendant does not accept the circumstances of the offence. He is a man of good character. He has been a happily married man for some years and he has retained the support of his family and friends. They do not recognise his behaviour, but he must accept the verdict of the jury. He knows and accepts that the court has a duty to perform."

Manley was also made the subject of a list of stringent conditions over future contact with children as part of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.