A FATHER who repeatedly groped a teenage girl and bought her a sex toy for her 14th birthday has avoided prison.

Joao de Sousa, of St Michael's Road in Cirencester, wept as the judge sentenced him to 18 months in prison, suspended for two years, with supervision for a year.

Gloucester Crown Court had heard that 42-year-old de Sousa, from Portugal, had regularly touched the girl from Cirencester when he saw her.

He was found guilty of five offences of sexual activity with the girl when she was 13 years old, between May 2011 and June 2012, and another five when she was 14 the following year.

De Sousa had denied the charges but was found guilty by a jury after a trial last month.

He claimed he only touched the girl once when she was concerned she might have a lump on her breast, but the victim told the jury de Sousa would grope her both under and over her clothing whenever he had the opportunity.

She said he also bought her a sex toy for her 14th birthday and made various inappropriate remarks to her.

While a neighbour of the girl had seen de Sousa groping her, the jury heard.

After hearing a statement from the victim, Judge William Hart told de Sousa the assaults had “undoubtedly had a very damaging effect on that young girl”.

Sentencing de Sousa today, Judge Hart said he did not find the decision on whether to jail him at all easy.

"I take the general approach that if I am uncertain as to whether immediate custody has to be imposed or whether it should be suspended, I should come down in favour of suspending the sentence,” he said.

"I have just been persuaded in your case that I do not need to send you to prison today."

The judge also imposed a 20 week curfew for 10pm to 6am and ordered de Sousa to do 100 hours of unpaid work, as well as making a sexual offences prevention order against him and ordering him to pay £500 costs.

De Sousa's barrister, Nicholas Syfret QC, argued that the seriousness of the offences did not pass the custody threshold.

He handed in four references for de Sousa including one from his daughter.

He said de Sousa, who has no other convictions, came across during his trial as a “warm-hearted man who was anxious to be friendly and generous towards pretty well everyone he came across".

Mr Syfret added: "In many respects, I would submit, he is a thoroughly decent and pleasant man."

Judge Hart told de Sousa: "For 40 years before these offences you led an honest crime-free life and I bear very much in mind that in the two years since these things happened you have committed no further offences either.

“This has shown me you can put this offending behind you and carry on leading the life you had led for forty years."