A SLEAZY stepfather who carried out a sordid double sexual assault on the schoolgirl daughter of his long-term partner was yesterday jailed at Greenock Sheriff Court.
Daniel Byrne looked to the ceiling and shook his head as he was led away in handcuffs to begin his sentence after being told he will be on the Sex Offenders Register for a decade.
The 32-year-old pervert — who molested the child as she lay ill in bed — had refused to accept the seriousness of his offending during pre-sentencing interviews, the court heard.
His lawyer, Charles Drummond, said: "People who are involved in this sort of offending are reluctant to see themselves as that sort of person.
"This is clarified in one report that it is more common than uncommon for offenders convicted of these sorts of matters not to face the reality of the offences."
The Telegraph told last month how Byrne had repeatedly entered the 14-year-old girl's bedroom and stared at her as she lay in bed in her pyjamas with a throat infection.
He waited until she had gone into the room that he shared with her mother before twice groping one of her breasts and then asking if she was 'okay'.
Byrne seized his chance to assault the vulnerable youngster after she'd asked for help in getting a television in the room to work.
The court heard yesterday how Byrne — who has been assessed as being of a medium risk of re-offending — had made a 'good deal' of the fact that he was under the influence of alcohol when he carried out the sex assaults on March 4.
Solicitor Mr Drummond told Sheriff David Hall: "At first blush your Lordship may have some concern regarding Mr Byrne's presentation regarding events."
But he added: "Alcohol is clearly a disinhibiting factor rather than a mitigating one."
The court heard previously how Byrne had sat beside the girl on her right-hand side and he rubbed her back with his left hand, then her shoulder, down the front of her pyjama top and over the right cup of her bra.
Prosecutor Kevin Doherty said: "He placed his hand inside her bra and rubbed the right side of her right breast.
"The girl was not happy about this and she sat up and tried to discourage him.
"Daniel Byrne then sat up and hugged her and asked if she was ok.
"He then touched her right breast again."
The victim's mother immediately ended her seven-year relationship with Byrne after the 'extremely upset' girl told her the following morning about what he had done to her.
Byrne, of Angus Road in Greenock, had maintained his innocence for months after the incident but finally pleaded guilty on the day he had been due to stand trial on the matter.
Lawyer Mr Drummond asked for his client to be spared prison and be placed under a 'robust' supervision order instead.
He said: "He has already paid a price in that the most significant relationship he has ever had is now firmly at an end and there is no prospect of a return in that regard.
"Mr Byrne presents as a man who is devastated at the realisation of his offending."
Sheriff Hall ruled that there was no alternative to a custodial sentence as he jailed Byrne for eight months and told him that he will remain on the sex offenders register for 10 years.
The sheriff said: "This was a very serious matter.
"The complainer was 14 years of age and the daughter of your partner. You had been in a relationship with the girl's mother for seven years and I take that factor into account.
"You were trusted and you abused that trust.
"The girl was in her bed, a place where anyone should feel safe and you sexually assaulted her not once but twice."