May 2015 Paedophile,77, who groomed and sexually assaulted 11-year-old girl is jailed A MAN in his 70s who sexually assaulted a young girl has been jailed. Thomas Marsh, aged 77, was sentenced to 30 months in prison for two offences of sexual assault of a child under the age of 13. He was sentenced at Dorchester Crown Court after being convicted of the two offences at trial. The court was told Marsh met the girl in November 2013 when she was 11 and there was an element of what Judge Douglas Field described as ‘grooming’ as he gained her trust before committing the offences. Victim impact statements from the young girl’s parents claimed that the offences had caused an adverse impact on the lives of the whole family. Marsh, of Holmes Road, Swanage, had no previous convictions. Thomas Horder, mitigating, said that Marsh had lived in the same home for 35 years and was well liked and highly regarded by many people. He attempted to persuade the judge not to impose a custodial sentence because of Marsh’s age and ill health. Mr Horder said the defendant had a number of ailments including diabetes, back pain and kidney disease while he had suffered three heart attacks in recent years He added: “The main impact of such a sentence would also be on his family. “These events have impacted very greatly on the defendant’s family as well.” Judge Field told the defendant that he had abused the trust the young girl had place in him. He said: “You started to groom her, you were showing interest in her difficulties at school and you gave her money and so on and her trust in you grew. “You started to abuse that trust by assaulting her.” The judge sentenced Marsh to 30 months in prison and placed him on the sex offenders’ register for an indefinite period. He also imposed a sexual harm prevention order, which again will run for an indefinite period. Judge Field told the defendant his offending was likely to have a ‘profound’ impact on his young victim. He said: “You have got to realise that what you did to her has had a profound effect on her and that’s going to be long lasting, perhaps for the rest of her life.” For more on this article please click this link