A man has been jailed for more than two years for indecent assault and taking indecent images of a child under the age of 16.

Adrian Richard Arthur Solway, 31, formerly of Union Mills, was said to have committed the offences on October 19, 2021.

Solway denied the offences but was found guilty by a jury in the Court of General Gaol Delivery.

He was found to have started the assault in the living room of the victim’s house and proceeded to continue assaulting her in the bedroom.

Prosecuting advocate Roger Kane clarified that there was no physical naked contact on the victim’s genitalia or upper chest.

Before this, he was found to have taken two pictures of the victim’s lower half, which the court labelled as ‘upskirting’.

The pictures were deemed to have been graded on the COPINE scale at level one.

The COPINE scale is a measuring tool used to grade the severity of indecent images on a scale of one to five.

On the same day as this offence, Solway was also found to have taken a covert video of a woman’s rear in his place of work using a hidden mobile phone.

During the investigation, Solway was found to have played a German online sex game ‘at least twice’, which includes the player having underage sex around Germany.

When sentencing him, Deemster Graeme Cook said Solway’s behaviour ‘caused horror for this young girl’.

Defence advocate James Peterson told the court that after his conviction, Solway became a hermit and basically refused to leave his home.

Mr Peterson said: ‘He knows his behaviour was wholly inappropriate and unacceptable.’

He also labelled his client’s actions as ‘stupid’ and ‘ill-judged’.

Mr Peterson said: ‘He is sorry and he knows that his actions will have ramifications for him and his family.’

Solway will be placed on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years following his release, due to the length of his sentence.

He will also be issued with a Sexual Offences Protection Order at another hearing on June 16.