Gosport paedophile spotted kissing girl, 8, is jailed for more than four years

Shaun Hewer, 63, destroyed the little girl’s confidence and left her ‘shy, lacking in confidence and mistrusting’ those around her, a court heard.

Jurors at Portsmouth Crown Court convicted Hewer of two sexual assaults after they heard he touched and kissed the child.

‘She was always such a shy girl and only felt she could trust a few people,’ her mum said. ‘She was beginning to come out of her shell.’

But she added the assaults in summer 2019 shattered this and her daughter’s lack of trust ‘could take years’ to overcome.

‘No I’m sad rather than angry,’ the girl’s mum said.

Hewer, of Ann’s Hill Road in Gosport, was only stopped when a woman happened to spot what he was doing to the victim.

‘When all this started, every time I shut my eyes all I could see was his face and what he was doing,’ she said in a statement.

Judge Tim Mousley QC said Hewer thought he had ‘got her on her own’.

He said the woman who spotted Hewer was ‘significantly distressed’ by what she caught by chance but swung into action.

Jailing Hewer for four and a half years, the judge said: ‘Your intention was clear, you were intent on abusing her.

‘How far you intended to go was not entirely clear.’

Hewer maintains he is innocent and has shown no remorse, the judge said.

Addressing Hewer, judge Mousley added: ‘You lack the courage to admit these offences.’

Hewer’s barrister argued for a sentence allowing rehabilitation alongside punishment.

Hewer must comply with a sexual harm prevention order and sign the sex offenders’ register for life.

Get support

Portsmouth Abuse and Rape Counselling Service offers a helpline for victims of sex offences.

The women’s helpline is (023) 9266 9511 and the men’s helpline is (023) 9266 9516. Lines are open Monday 1pm until 3pm, Wednesday and Friday 7pm until 10pm. There is an answer machine outside of these hours.

The charity also runs a child counselling service for young survivors aged five to 10.

Refer a child for support by calling the office on (023) 9266 9513.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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