'Depraved' man jailed over child sex offences

John Atherton, of Bottesford, Scunthorpe, has been jailed for eight years

A man who sexually assaulted a young girl in a series of non-recent crimes has been jailed.

John Atherton, 45, was found guilty of two counts of assault of a child under 13 by penetration on Wednesday following a two-day trial at Grimsby Crown Court.

Atherton, of Bottesford, Scunthorpe, was sentenced to eight years in prison, one year on licence upon his release and will be on the sex offenders register for life.

Det Con Richard Brackenbury said: "Atherton is a depraved individual who subjected an impressionable and innocent little girl to sexual abuse all for his own selfish and warped sexual deviancy."

An investigation began in May 2022 when someone reported a girl had disclosed a number of sexual crimes against her at the hands of Atherton.

Humberside Police said he continually denied all charges against him.

Det Con Brackenbury said: "His decision to then deny all charges and force the girl and her family to relive her trauma in court was extremely cruel.

"We don't underestimate the impact that this will have on the little girl as her and her family attempt to move on and there is no doubt they will all be affected by this for the rest of their lives.

"We know that his sentence does not make up for the terror this little girl faced, but we hope it goes some way in reassuring members of the public that this man is off our streets."

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