A Pembrokeshire man who sexually assaulted a nine-year-old girl on at least four separate occasions 'buried his head in the sand' for 20 years before finally admitting the offences.

But Craig Jenkins, 54, was brought before Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court for sentence on Monday, 6 February.

"This is a man who has buried his head under the sand for many years and only on the morning of his trial did he enter these guilty pleas," said his barrister, Nicola Powell, KC.

The offences go back to 2003 when Jenkins, of Maes Ingli, Newport, was alone at his previous home in Cardiff when his parents attended church services.

He would then invite a child and her siblings to visit his house to play on the PlayStation.

"The children would walk there, play on the games station in his bedroom, but then he'd ask the siblings to go downstairs to see if his parents were home," said Clare Wilks, KC, for the Crown.

"He'd then be alone with the victim."

Jenkins would then lift the child onto his bed, hold her hands above her head and rub himself against her clothed body, stimulating intercourse.

"Then he'd get off and tickle her, pretending that nothing untoward was happening,” she said.

Ms Wilks went on to say that the child was too young to realise what was happening to her.

A statement was read to the court where the victim described the way in which the sexual assaults have damaged her life.

“What I’ve been subjected to has scarred me for life,” she said.

“I don’t wish to disclose what I felt in the past because there are too many memories.”

Meanwhile Nicola Powell for the defence said that the defendant, who was 34 when the offences occurred, has learning difficulties.

“He did this as a form of sexual excitement and naivety,” she said.

"He knew the difference between right and wrong, but this is a man who needs help and support in going forward.”

Jenkins admitted four charges of sexual assault against the child.

He was sentenced to three years in prison, half of which will be spent in custody, the remaining half on licence.

He will be placed indefinitely on the sex offenders’ register, was subjected to a ten-year restraining order from the victim and was given an SHPO for ten years.