Teen avoids jail after sex attack on four-year-old inside Cradley Heath church
A teenager who carried out a sex attack on a four-year-old girl inside a Black Country church has avoided a jail term.
The 17 year old was looking after the child when the attack took place, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.
The victim said the assault at a church in Cradley Heath had left her 'scared and extremely upset'.
Miss Raj Poona, prosecuting, said the offence came to light when the victim told her mother what had happened and the teenager was arrested.
The attack had a 'high degree of harm' because of the victim's age, she added.
Mr John Dove, defending, said the attack was a 'moment of madness' from the teenager.
However, Mr Dove added: "He cannot offer any explanation for what he did."
Mr Dove said probation reports on the teenager concluded he posed a low risk of re-offending.
Judge Amjad Nawaz told the defendant it was important for him to receive 'help and guidance to prevent further offending, rather than spend time behind bars'.
Judge Nawaz told the teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, that if he had been an adult he could have received a life sentence for his actions.
The judge said the girl had been left in his care by her parents, because they felt she would be safe – and what he did had severely affected her life.
The 17 year old admitted assaulting a girl under 13 and was given a two-year youth rehabilitation order, with two years supervision.
Judge Nawaz also ordered the defendant to register as a sex offender for the next two and a half years.
