Craig Dixon – Stafford/Cumbria

A 35-year-old man from Cumbria who sexually assaulted a schoolgirl has been jailed after a judge branded him a “real risk” to children.

Craig Dixon carried out three sexual offences against the girl during a single incident, Carlisle Crown Court heard.

The former Maryport resident, who had recently been living in Stafford, initially tried to deny what had happened — even giving police a false account.

But Dixon later asked for another interview and finally admitted the offences.

The victim, a girl in her early teens, told her mother what had happened before speaking to police. She described being left frozen in shock as Dixon groped her.

The court also heard that Dixon had previously been investigated over other sexual offences.

Sentencing him, the judge questioned how an adult could be sexually attracted to a child and delivered a stark warning about the danger Dixon posed.

“You represent a real risk,” the judge told him.

Dixon was sentenced to two years in prison, with the court ruling that immediate custody was necessary.

But his punishment does not end when he leaves prison.

Dixon will remain on the Sex Offender Register for 10 years and has been made subject to a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

The order places strict restrictions on his contact with female children, preventing unsupervised access except where contact is accidental or unavoidable during normal everyday life.

A decade of restrictions now awaits the pervert who admitted sexually assaulting a vulnerable young girl.