A Swindon sex offender has been jailed after abusing a girl under the age of 13.

Joshua White, of Lennox Drive, Walcot, put his hands down his victim's pyjamas onto her genitals.

The 32-year-old's victim explained the impact of the assault in a statement read out by prosecutor Jack Barry.

She said: “I cannot put into words the impact this has had on my life.”

“At first I thought it was a misunderstanding when he got into my bed.

“I felt no relief when I told someone. When I had to tell the police, I could not believe it was real; I could not believe it had happened.

She said that when she later saw him: "I broke down crying and my heart felt so fast I could not breathe."

She continued: “Him going to prison does not change anything - it does not make it go away.”

She says how she lost all her confidence and "I have self-harmed because I needed a release".

After the assault, the girl says she locked herself in the bathroom and was screaming.

A jury previously found White guilty of one count of sexual assault of a child under 13.

He has a previous conviction for possession of an offensive weapon in public.

Aubrey Fletcher, representing the defence, said White still denied that he was guilty.

She said he suffers from both mental and physical health problems including anxiety and depression, and was on medication for this.

Between 2019 and 2020 White had a mental breakdown and was taken to a psychiatric hospital for 24 hours.

She said he is no longer in touch with people due to the stigma of the crime and Ms Fletcher also noted that the assault was not planned or a result of grooming.

The judge, Gordon Bebb KC, decided the offence represented an escalation from his previous crimes.

White, wearing a black sweatshirt and glasses, yawned while waiting to be sentenced.

The judge noted that his not-guilty plea meant that the victim "had to go through the trauma of going through the court process" and he showed no sign of remorse.

He was sentenced to four years in prison, an indefinite section 92 register, a 10-year sexual harm prevention order, a three-year restraining order and ordered to pay a surcharge of £190.

The victim said White being on the sex offenders register pleased her as it would "stop him moving on".