Man avoids jail after sexually assaulting young girl as family denounces sentence as a “joke”

A North Yorkshire man convicted of sexually assaulting a young girl has avoided jail – prompting anger from the victim’s family, who called the sentence a “joke”.

Dale Coulton, 28, of Coronation Place, Richmond, was found guilty of a sexual act on a primary school-aged girl but was handed a seven-month prison term, suspended for two years, at Durham Crown Court.

Despite the jury’s verdict, Coulton continues to deny the offence. The court heard how his actions left the victim’s family in turmoil. Her father told the court: “I feel like I have failed as a father for not protecting my daughter.”

Judge Richard Bennett acknowledged the child’s vulnerability and Coulton’s lack of remorse, telling him: “You and you alone are responsible for what happened.”

Coulton has significant intellectual disabilities and a background of neglect, but the judge said he still understood his actions were wrong.

Outside court, the girl’s mother said: “He did that to my daughter and gets to walk away free… It has been hell.”