A supermarket worker has today narrowly avoided going to jail for sexually abusing a young girl when he was a boy.

Richard Smith, 22, was convicted by a jury at Bradford Crown Court earlier this month of one offence of indecency with a child.

He was cleared of five charges of raping the girl.

The court heard Smith forced the child to perform a sex act on him when she was nine or ten and he was 13 or 14.

Judge Jonathan Rose said today it was “a gross and disgusting offence” that would nowadays be categorised as rape.

But Smith, of Bracken Bank Avenue, Ingrow, Keighley, was a man of good character who had committed an isolated offence at least seven years ago, he said.

Smith’s barrister, Jeremy Lindsay, said his client was on anti-depressants and had found the trial extremely traumatic.

Now engaged to be married, Smith, a butchery worker at Morrisons in Keighley, posed no future danger to children or young women.

Smith was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment suspended for 18 months and ordered to do 180 hours’ unpaid work.

He also received a two-month overnight curfew with electronic tagging.

The judge said it would act as a reminder how close he came to going to prison.

Smith must sign on the Sex Offenders’ Register for ten years.