A MAN found guilty of sexually abusing a girl as young as four over several years will face a “lengthy prison sentence”.

Richard Lewis, 50, previously of Haverfordwest, appeared in the dock at Swansea Crown Court charged with seven child sexual abuse offences.

Lewis was charged with six counts of assaulting a child under the age of 13 by penetration – all dated between July 2004 and July 2009.

The complainant was aged between four and eight years old at the time of these allegations.

He was also charged with attempted sexual assault of the same child when she was aged between eight and 12 years old.

Lewis, now of Priory Street in Carmarthen, pleaded not guilty to each of the charges.

  • For the latest crime and court news for west Wales, you can join our Facebook group here.

After just over two hours of deliberations, the jury returned guilty verdicts on five offences of sexual assault of a child by penetration.  

Lewis was found not guilty of one offence of sexually assaulting a child by penetration and one offence of attempted sexual assault of a child.

Judge Paul Thomas KC thanked the jury for their attention during the trial.

He said the defendant will be sentenced on Thursday (August 15), and Lewis was remanded back in to custody.

“It will be a lengthy prison sentence,” Judge Thomas warned the defendant.

Lewis must now register as a sex offender.

Prosecutor Craig Jones previously told the jury that Lewis was accused of sexually assaulting the victim in a field, around the back of a garage complex, and in his vehicle.

“He would buy her treats: sweets, ice lollies and ice creams,” Mr Jones said.

“There were times that the defendant asked the complainant if she liked what he was doing to her.

“The complainant felt she had to say yes.

“On one occasion she did say no. She noticed that the defendant didn’t like that. She felt that she let him down by saying no.”

Mr Jones said that the victim disclosed the allegations to her parents when she was in her teens – after having sex education in school – but “was adamant she didn’t want to report it” at the time.

Lewis was arrested and interviewed on March 6, 2022, where he denied sexually assaulting the girl, before giving a prepared statement in his second interview August 26, 2022.