A MAN has been given a five-year jail sentence for sexually assaulting a young boy more than 20 years ago.

Andrew Brigham, now 56, forced himself upon the child and subjected him to a serious assault at a property in York.

Following the incident Brigham promised the under-age boy that he would buy him sweets if he kept quiet about the attack, prosecutor Nicholas Rooke told York Crown Court.

Brigham’s attempt to “buy his silence” appeared to succeed because the victim did not tell anyone about it until more than 20 years later.

Brigham, who admitted indecent assault following his arrest, appeared for sentence on Thursday.

Mr Rooke said the attack had had a “devastating” effect on the victim, who was still struggling to come to terms with it well into adulthood.

Defence barrister Susannah Proctor said Brigham, now of Bouthwaite Drive, York, felt “dreadful” about what he had done, adding that the incident was a “one-off”.

She said that Brigham, a father-of-five, was a carer for his mother and was in serious ill health himself.

In a victim statement read out in court, the victim said the attack had left him in an “emotional mess” and affected his schooling, life prospects and personal relationships because he found it hard to trust people. He also suffered sleeplessness and bouts of depression.

Judge Andrew Stubbs QC told Brigham: “The impact that (this attack) has had on the victim is substantial.

“Although there is no diagnosis of depression, it (the assault) is something that is always on his mind.

“He can’t sleep and he is always thinking about how different his life could have been if you had not done what you did.”

As well as the five-year jail sentence, Brigham was ordered to sign on the sex-offenders’ register for life.

Mr Stubbs also made a restraining order, which will run indefinitely and bans Brigham from contacting the victim.