A 55-year-old man from Hove has been jailed for seven years for sexually abusing a five-year-old girl.
David Lennon, of Lovegrove Court in Ingram Crescent East, Hove, was convicted of five counts of indecently assaulting the girl in the summer of 1999.
He was jailed for seven years for the most serious offence and four years to run concurrently for each of the other offences.
Lennon’s name will be placed on the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely. And he has been made subject to a Sexual Offences Prevention Order to stop him from having unsupervised contact with any child under the age of 16.
He was found guilty by a jury at Lewes Crown Court in November and sentenced on Friday (4 January).
Detective Constable Holly Hallahan, from the Brighton and Hove Child Protection Team, investigated the case.
The Sussex Police officer said: “The defendant was supposed to be supervising while the victim had contact with her father.
“Instead, he sexually abused her, grossly abusing his position of trust and irreparably damaging a little girl.
“This sentencing is a fantastic result for the victim and her family and goes some way to easing the pain of the past.
“The victim is now 18 and this sentence means she can finally move on with her life.
“I hope that this case encourages anyone else who has suffered child abuse – no matter how long ago it happened – to report it to police.
“Every allegation is fully investigated and, as this case shows, justice can be achieved many years later.”
The victim’s mother said: “We would like to thank DC Hallahan for all her care and support throughout this investigation.
“We urge anyone who has suffered from heinous crimes of this type to come forward, whether the abuse is current or historic, so that the perpetrators of these crimes are brought to justice.”
