A 50-YEAR-OLD man from Oldbury-on-Severn has been locked up today after being convicted of sexually assaulting a nine-year-old girl.

Paul Bennett had admitted playfully ticking the girl in Stonehouse back in April, but denied there was anything sexual about his contact with her.

But today, a jury at Gloucester Crown Court found him guilty today of molesting the girl on April 19, and he was remanded in custody to await sentence on Friday afternoon.

He had also denied an earlier alleged assault on the same girl sometime last year in similar circumstances. The jury cleared him of that allegation.

Sarah Jenkins, defending, applied for Bennett to be allowed to remain on bail pending sentence, having been living at a bail address in Orpen Gardens, Lockleaze, Bristol, while on trial.

Bennett had attended all court hearings without fail so could be trusted on bail, she submitted. He had come to court today in a borrowed car and was concerned that it would be stuck in a local car park if he was in custody, she said.

But prosecutor Tara Wolfe objected to bail saying there was a fear he would not surrender for sentence on Friday. She reminded the court that he had threatened suicide after the allegation was made and he had been found in Severn Beach at 4am the next day.

The judge, Recorder Nigel Lickey QC, refused bail. He told Bennett "It appears that shortly after the offences came to light you left home saying that you were going to take your life. Whether that was genuine I don't know.

"But you were found at 4am on Severn Beach and arrested and it seems to me there are good grounds for fearing that you will not return on Friday.

"I am also concerned for your own safety and wellbeing pending sentence.

"You will have to make arrangements about what to do with the car."

The Recorder said he would like a brief probation service report on Bennett on Friday - and also required details of how the little girl is faring now.

Bennett's offence happened when he was staying at a house in Stonehouse where the little girl was also spending the night.

She told a woman relative the next morning what had happened. Her mother was then informed and called the police.

Bennett claimed that he had arrived at the house at about midnight, saw that the girl was watching TV and playing on her tablet in the living room and went to speak to her.

He said he gave her a kiss and tickled her playfully on the chest, stomach, legs and feet but did not touch her sexually.

When he was told the next day of the allegation she had made he was 'sick with shock,' he said.

Recorder Lickey told the advocates he had not yet decided whether the offence fell into a one-to-four year sentencing category or the more serious three-to-seven year category. Either way, he said, an immediate jail term was the most likely outcome.

An NSPCC spokesman for South West England said: “It is clear that Bennett preyed on his victim’s tender age and vulnerability to sexually assault her.

“The young girl in this case showed tremendous courage in speaking out about what happened and her bravery has helped bring her attacker to justice.

“Sexual abuse can ruins childhoods and have a lasting impact into adulthood. It is vital that children have somewhere to turn if they are worried.”

Any adult concerned about the welfare of a child can call the NSPCC Helpline on 0808 800 5000, while children can call Childline on 0800 1111.