Wigan man sexually assaulted a schoolgirl while she was asleep

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 adjourned the case until this Tuesday when Furlong will be sentenced.

He was remanded in custody in the meantime and told told that he would be put on the Sex Offenders’ Register.

The length of time he will have to sign onto it will be determined at the sentencing hearing, the judge said.