A 22-year-old man who molested a teenage girl has been jailed for two-and-a-half years.

Tommy Hoare’s lawyer submitted a suspended sentence could be imposed but a judge said it had to be immediate custody.

Hoare, of Roehampton Close, Gravesend, denied sexual assault but a jury convicted him by a 10-2 majority at Maidstone Crown Court in August.

He was arrested after the shocked and distressed victim told her mother he had touched her “down below”.

Prosecutor Lesley Bates said the victim eventually told her boyfriend and then her mother.

Hoare, who was 17 at the time, made complete denials, claiming the assaults simply did not happen.

Helen Jones, defending, said Hoare had a low IQ and difficulty in understanding fully what was going on.

“He has been offered work,” she said. “It means he has a positive future and he would be able to come off benefits.

“This is a situation where the sentence can be suspended. He is generally a quiet man - a gentle giant, one might say.”

Miss Jones said there had been no repetition since the offences were committed five years ago.

Judge David Griffith-Jones QC said Hoare denied the allegations and the victim gave compelling evidence against him.

“The effect of such offences on such a young girl are always liable to be emotional and perhaps psychological,” he said.

“You have shown no remorse and you remain very much in denial.”

Hoare will be barred from working with children and vulnerable adults and his name will appear on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years.

“You have shown no remorse and you remain very much in denial" - Judge David Griffith-Jones

Speaking after the case, Detective Constable Fleur Hardiesaid: "Hoare sexually assaulted his victim on three occasions... and then continued to deny any wrongdoing throughout the trial.

"It takes a lot of courage to report incidents of a sexual nature and I am pleased Hoare's victim felt she could talk to the police. We have a team of specially trained officers who can provide support to victims.

"Hoare now faces the consequences of his actions and I hope this result shows others that we do take incidents seriously, no matter how long ago they happened."

The judge added that it was not necessary to make a sexual harm prevention order.