Wigan man jailed for vile sex attack on schoolgirl as she slept

Shaun Furlong had initially been accused of raping the youngster while she was staying at his house but a Bolton Crown Court judge directed the jury to return a not guilty verdict to that charge.

Instead they were told to adjudicate on an offence of assault by penetration - which 34-year-old Furlong also denied.

But after a week-long trial Furlong, formerly from Bickershaw but latterly resident in Hampton Road, Heysham in Lancashire, was unanimously found guilty of the sexual assault.

The hearing was told that the victim was a family friend and that on December 28, 2018 she was staying at the defendant’s house in Wigan which he shared with his partner.

The girl had fallen asleep on the sofa but was awoken in the middle of the night to find herself being sexually assaulted by Furlong.

The judge imposed a nine-year prison sentence on the defendant and also ordered that he sign on the Sex Offenders’ Register indefinitely.