March 2015 Redditch man jailed for just two years for sexually assaulting & taking pictures of six-year-old girl A REDDITCH man has been jailed for two years and four months after admitting sexually assaulting a girl aged jut six – which led to his “secret habit” of looking at child abuse images being exposed. 54-year-old Kerry Jones had thousands of indecent images of children on his computers, Worcester Crown Court heard. They included 10 images of his indecent assault victim, one of which showed her in a dress without underwear. Jones, of Abbotswood Close, Winyates Green, admitted the indecent assault, which happened almost two years ago, and 14 allegations of having child abuse images dating as far back as 2004. Jailing him, Judge Michael Cullum told Jones that the indecent assault led to his “secret habit” of looking at indecent of images of children being exposed. Looking at such images to obtain gratification was also “abusing children” – but he went on to “unforgivably” assault the young girl, said the judge. “What was a relatively fleeting physical act had a more serious background,” he added. And, the judge said, “crossing the line from internet abuse” had caused actual and life-long damage to the little girl he assaulted. Telling Jones he would serve half of his sentence and spend the rest on licence, Judge Cullum also placed him on the sexual offences register and made an order limiting his contact with children for 10 years. Peter Grice, prosecuting, told the court that Jones touched the girl intimately while she sat on his lap. The girl later told her parents what had happened and they reported it to police. Officers then found more than 3,000 indecent images of children on computers at his home, including some of the most serious kind. There were also 58 “extreme” images showing sex between adults and animals. There were other pictures on his mobile phone. At first Jones denied sexual activity with the child but he eventually pleaded guilty last November, as he was awaiting trial. Andrew Baker, defending, said Jones was of previous good character and by eventually admitting the indecent assault charge he had spared witnesses the trauma of giving evidence. Mr Baker added that Jones had been married for many years and his wife, who was substantially older than him, had suffered a series of mini strokes. He was responsible for paying their £48,999 mortgage and his actions had left his sick wife “isolated”. Mr Baker said Jones was “deeply ashamed” and knew he needed help.