Manx National Heritage says it will review whether further changes are needed to its safeguarding procedures.

The move came after a Manx Museum worker was found not guilty of indecent assault.

Visitor assistant Paul Welden always denied the offence and insisted he had merely been helping the child untwist the blue fancy dress she was trying on in the museum’s Exploratorium.

During the trial, evidence was heard that staff at the museum were aware that MNH had a safeguarding policy - but they had never seen one.

Mr Welden said he had received no training in children protection in the five years he had worked there either as a volunteer, bank staff or as a full-time employee.

It also emerged at the trial that there was no CCTV coverage of the Exploratorium gallery.

MNH director Edmund Southworth said: ’Manx National Heritage takes the safety and well-being of its staff and visitors very seriously.

’It has a wide range of policies, procedures and training which have been in place for some years.

’These include safeguarding of vulnerable children and adults as well as criminal records checking for staff.

’All of these policies and systems are reviewed on a regular basis and audited to make sure they are fully embedded in the operations and culture of the organisation.’

He added: ’Now that the court case has been completed MNH will conduct further investigations into the incident and see whether any changes are appropriate.’

Chief Minister Howard Quayle told the Examiner: ’Safeguarding is vital. I was concerned when I read the article about the court case.

’I will be speaking to the board of MNH to get their views and get reassurance that the policies and procedures are in place.’

Mr Welden, 43, of Snaefell Crescent, Onchan, was found not guilty following a three-day trial at the Court of General Gaol Delivery.

The jury of five men and two woman took just 30 minutes to reach their unanimous verdict.

Deemster Kainth told him: ’Your day has got a million times better. That brings the nightmare as far as you are concerned to an end.

’Your name, your good character, remain intact.’

Mr Walden, who described securing his full-time job at Manx National Heritage as ’the career equivalent or winning the Lottery’, denied lifting up the girl’s skirt and touching her in the museum’s Exploratorium in June last year.

He told the jury that the girl must have been confused and that she and her mother must have been lying.

The court heard that the mother had previously been in dispute with Manx National Heritage over a tenancy.