Man, 80, sentenced for sexual abuse of girl in 1980s
An 80-year-old man who sexually abused a young girl in Hertfordshire in the 1980s has been given a 12-month suspended jail sentence.
David Watson, from Woodside, Walton-on-the-Naze, admitted assaulting the girl when she was aged between four and six.
St Albans Crown Court heard that in 2006 the victim, now aged in her 30s, told her family who confronted the man. He admitted what he had done.
Watson's jail sentence was suspended for two years.
He was also ordered to attend a sex offender work programme.
Watson pleaded guilty to three charges of indecent assault on the girl.
Judge Andrew Bright told the defendant: "What a guilty secret you had for 25 to 30 years. The victim has been left scarred for life."
The judge also banned Watson from having unsupervised contact with anyone under 16.