Formby man who sexually abused a seven-year-old is jailed for 12 years

Formby resident Michael Cowen, who was also a former teacher at a Merseyside College, sexually abused a seven-year-old girl and was jailed for 12 years at Preston Court on Friday 17th March.

Preston Crown Court was told Michael Cowen, 38, of The Paddock, Formby, asked if the girl wanted to play a game and then went on to sexually abuse her.

Michael Cowen pleaded not guilty to sexual assault by penetration, sexual assault and possession of an indecent image - believed to be of the little girl - but was convicted after a trial. He was cleared of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

Judge James Adkin, sentencing, told Cowen: “You had become dis-inhibited with intoxicant. The evidence revealed that you had an interest in indecent pornography and you allowed that dis-inhibition to let your sexual fantasies transfer into reality."

“She is a resilient child. She still talks about what you did but the fact she is not currently very affected by what you did is testament to the way her mother has carefully handled her disclosure and these proceedings.”

The court heard Cowen had no previous convictions, and was spoken highly of in references supplied to the court.

Judge Adkin said: “You are a man who has worked in the past and lost that work. This conviction will have serious consequences in the future. It is your fault that you have thrown everything away because of your inability to control your desire for sexual gratification with a seven-year-old child.”

He jailed Cowen for 12 years and made an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.

In a victim impact statement, the girl’s mum - who cannot be identified for legal reasons - said she had been called in to school to discuss conversations her daughter had been having with her friends. She added: “I worry about what she has been exposed to at such a young age.”

The girls mum is said to be 'pleased with the result'.

Preston Crown Court