60-year-old man charged with sexual abuse of six-year-old girl

An elderly man is on trial for allegedly sexually abusing a six-year-old girl.

Stephen Shepherd, 60, will appear before Oxford Crown Court this week. He is charged with three counts of assault by touching and two counts of assault by penetration of a child under 13.

It is alleged that the crimes were committed between 2021 and 2022 against a young girl who cannot be named for legal reasons.

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Shepherd, of Perry's Road, Stanford in the Vale, near Faringdon, has denied the offences. The trial is expected to last four to five days.

At the opening of the trial on Tuesday (August 27), it was announced that Shepherd is accused of inappropriately touching the young girl, aged between six and seven, at least seven times.

The allegations include Shepherd allegedly placing the girl's hand on his penis, touching her breast and penetrating her with his fingers.

At the opening of the proceedings, the prosecutor said: “The matter came to light when [the girl] said she felt unwell in October 2022.

“Her mother asked her if there was anything she could do to help her. She said she could rub butter on her chest, like [Shepherd] does.

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“[Her mother] was extremely shocked. [The girl] spoke to her sister and she told her about the allegations and described how she [Shepherd’s] Shot and saw her rocket ship.

“Her sister thought her sister was talking about [Shepherd’s] erect penis.

“[Her mother] called the police about the allegations and they spoke with [the girl] about her. She explained how [Shepherd] forced her to touch him…he did it several times.”

The 12-member jury heard that the girl's testimony and cross-examination were videotaped because of her age.

They were warned that their videotaped evidence would only be shown to them once, as would be the case with a witness statement in court.

Shepherd was then interviewed by police in November 2022 and answered all questions put to him, denying all allegations.

The prosecutor told the jury: “The defendant does not have to prove anything in this case. It is the prosecution that [the girl] mentioned these things as they happened.

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“The details she used and the way she described the events in words corresponded to those that had happened to her.

“Instead of lying about a series of events, she deliberately and repeatedly lied for no apparent reason or benefit.”

The trial will continue this week with Judge Ian Pringle presiding.