A former lollipop man has been sentenced to 16 months in prison for indecently assaulting a 15-year-old girl.

Kenneth Stephen Moore, aged 61, of The Bretney, Jurby, had pleaded not guilty to the offence which occurred in February 2021, having been found guilty at a trial.

Sentencing judge Simon Farrell KC said that Moore, who also worked as a rugby coach, had showed ‘continued denial’ about what he had done.

The court heard that Moore invited the girl to his house, and that she had been watching television on the sofa.

He was said to have crawled across the carpet towards her, whereupon he began touching her thighs, and telling her how beautiful she was and how he wanted to have sex with her.

Moore was also reported to have put his hand up the girl’s top and touched her breasts, and attempted to put his hand down her waistband.

Prior to this, he had been sending inappropriate messages to the girl and had developed ‘an unhealthy sexual interest in her over a period of months’. In seeking for the prison sentence to be suspended, defence advocate Paul Glover argued that it was an ‘isolated indecent assault’, though he conceded that there was ‘grooming and buildup’.

A victim impact statement talked about the ‘severe emotional distress’ this had caused to ‘a vulnerable girl who suffers with mental health issues’.

In sentencing, Mr Farrell said that Moore’s actions had ‘involved a breach of trust and an element of grooming’.

However, he acknowledged that the offence was ‘out of character for you considering your age’, adding that ‘it seemed that you became obsessed with this woman’.

Mr Moore will also remain on the sex offenders register for 10 years, and be subject to a Sexual Offences Prevention Order for 10 years.

This will include restrictions such as the need to notify the authorities before travelling.

The sentence of 16 months had been reduced from a higher initial one, with Mr Farrell making concessions for the personal circumstances of Moore and his family.