A woman has told a court she has been scarred for life after being sexually assaulted at Jurby beach by a man she trusted.

The victim was found curled up in a ball and ‘hysterical’ by a member of the public following the attack.

Nathan Owen Briggs, 26, appeared before the Court of General Gaol Delivery on Thursday for sentencing, having previously admitted sexual assault by penetration.

Prosecutor Sara-Jayne Dodge said police were called following a report of a sexual assault on the beach on August 20, 2025.

A member of the public had earlier seen Briggs and the victim on the beach, where they had been drinking and arguing.

Ms Dodge said: ‘Around 30 minutes later, the woman returned from the beach and saw the woman curled up in a ball on a path hysterically crying.’

When police arrived, the victim told officers she had been sexually assaulted. She suffered a panic attack and was taken to hospital.

Interviewed the following day, she said she had met Briggs around nine weeks earlier. They had spent time together but were not in a relationship.

She described Briggs as a ‘really lonely person’ and said she had not believed he was capable of such an offence.

The pair had been drinking and having a barbecue on the beach when the woman fell asleep.

She told police that she had trusted Briggs, whom she had known for several weeks, and had not previously expected anything like this to happen while they were together.

She awoke to find Briggs sexually assaulting her with his hand inside her shorts. She had not consented and screamed at him to get off her.

Briggs, of Marathon Road, Douglas, was subsequently arrested and gave a ‘no comment’ police interview.

In his basis of plea, he claimed the assault ‘only lasted a couple of seconds’ and that he ‘sincerely apologised for his actions’.

Ms Dodge read the woman's victim impact statement to the court.

The victim said: ‘I had hopes and plans and a sense of who I was but my life has changed completely.

‘The impact has been severe and has affected me every day since. My mental health has deteriorated significantly.

‘I have attempted to take my own life and I have self-harmed since. I now live with physical and emotional scars that will stay for the rest of my life.

‘I also suffer from sleep paralysis and I suffer from flashbacks. I struggle to trust men and I feel vulnerable and unsafe.

‘This has changed the course of my life and I will carry this for years to come.’

Defence advocate Ian Kermode said Briggs had no relevant previous convictions and had entered an early guilty plea.

He told the court his client had a good employment record as a fisherman and had experienced a difficult childhood.

The court also heard that Briggs had expressed remorse in a letter and experienced mental health difficulties himself.

Sentencing him, Deemster Graeme Cook said: ‘You have committed a quite horrific offence. I accept the assault a minimal length but it has had a prolonged effect on the victim.’

Briggs was jailed for three years and eight months.

He will also be subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years and remain on the sex offenders' register for life.