Ex-councillor jailed for sexual assault of child
BBCA former councillor has been jailed after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a child.
Paul Ockelton, of Innsworth, near Gloucester, had denied a charge of sexually assaulting a girl under 13 by touching, but was found guilty by a jury in March following a four-day trial.
At Gloucester Crown Court on Monday, Ockelton, who represented Innsworth on Tewkesbury Borough Council, was sentenced to 18 months in prison. He was also placed on the sex offenders register for ten years and was given a ten-year sexual harm prevention order.
The child's mother read a statement to the court to say she was "proud" of her for "telling the truth and being brave enough to tell me".
During the trial, the court heard Ockelton had sexually assaulted the girl in November 2021, and that the intentional touching was sexual.
He sat his victim on his lap and asked her "do you like this?" while he carried out the assault, the court was told.
Ockelton denied he had touched her inappropriately, claiming he had been tickling her tummy and brushing her hair, but a jury rejected his defence.
The child's mother told the court: "I am saddened that my daughter's wellbeing and confidence has been so badly shattered by his actions.
"No-one has the right to touch my daughter and it is something that will affect her for the rest of her life. She is the most amazing and beautiful little girl."
Alastair Haggerty, defending Ockelton, said it had been an "inexplicable moment" and "wholly out of character".
Det Sgt Grace Craddock, of Gloucestershire Police, said: "The child victim in this case has been unbelievably brave by letting her parents know what Ockelton had done to her.
"The strength shown by her family throughout this difficult process too has been incredible, and I commend them for working with us to ensure Ockelton has been convicted and now sentenced for his offending."
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