May 2017 Man jailed for sexual assault on young girl A MAN has been jailed for three years and four months after sexually assaulting a young girl. Stephen Granville Bodden, 64, pleaded guilty to the crime which took place in September last year. York Crown Court heard the attack happened at a house in the city when Bodden, of Owston Avenue, Tang Hall, thought the child was asleep. He removed her pyjama top and shorts before touching her body and sexually assaulting her. The girl was not asleep and pretended to wake up in an attempt to get Bodden off her. Bodden saw the child had been disturbed, made an excuse, and left. Paul Newcombe, prosecuting, said: “She was petrified. “She didn’t know what to do so she moved about and was flailing to make it look like she was waking up from sleep. “She put her own clothes back on and put an obstacle against the door so he couldn’t come back in.” Mr Newcombe said the girl was in pain the next day, but did not tell her parents about the assault. The girl told her friends what had happened on a phone messaging app and her parents read the message when they noticed a change in her behaviour and looked at her phone. Judge Andrew Stubbs QC sentenced Bodden to 40 months in prison and made him subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for life. This means he must notify police of his address and must not contact any females under the age of 16 unless it is approved by social services and the girl’s parent or guardian Judge Stubbs QC said: “This girl was shocked and markedly changed after what you had done to her.”