Man jailed for sexually assaulting child

A 62-year-old man has been jailed after a jury found him guilty of sexually assaulting a child.

Adrian McNab, formally of Woodwell Road, Shirehampton, was found guilty of two counts of sexually assaulting a girl under the age of 13 by touching.

The result came after a four-day trial at Bristol Crown Court which concluded on Monday 16 February.

At the sentencing hearing on Friday 10 April, McNab was jailed for four years and was ordered to be added to the Sex Offenders’ Register.

At the hearing, the court was told how McNab touched a child on several different occasions between 2019 and 2021.

Presiding Judge Lambert told McNab that his actions against the victim had ‘devastating consequences’.

In a personal statement read out at the hearing, the victim said: “You’ve taken away my childhood. I don’t want to do anything anymore and I feel sad, thinking ‘what would it be like if this never happened’.

“Whenever I see men on the street, I cross the road. I just do it without thinking. I do it out of safety and I know it is because of you.”

Speaking directly to McNab, the victim said: “I want you to know I have a life ahead of me. While I live with the effects, this hasn’t stopped me from [my future].

“I’m not going to let what you’ve done control my life.”

The victim’s family member said in a statement: “It’s not fair that she had to go through all of this. It’s so much trauma for a young person to deal with.

“This has impacted her in ways you probably couldn’t imagine.

“She has told me she feels like you’ve taken away her childhood, and I can’t help but feel sad knowing that this is true.

“I can only hope that one day, [McNab] can own up to [the victim] about what you really did.”

The investigation was carried out by our Op Ruby Child Protection team, who specifically focus on cases where children are being exploited or are coming to harm.

Det Sgt Jasmine Chadwick from Op Ruby said: “McNab deliberately targeted a vulnerable child. The court recognised that sexual abuse of a child can have serious and lasting consequences. The impact on the victim was significant.

“We commend the bravery shown by the victim in speaking up and hope this outcome provides a sense of justice.”