A FATHER of two faces jail after he was convicted of sexually assaulting a young girl in broad daylight.

The jury in the trial of George Dowse at Teesside Crown Court took more than five hours to return a guilty verdict.

They had previously been given a majority direction by Judge Howard Crowson, the trial judge.

Dowse, 29, of Sledmere Close, Peterlee, was accused of cycling up to the teenager as she ran an errand to the bank for her father.

He was said to have grabbed her hand, thrust it down her trousers and tried to kiss her.

The nightshift worker denied sexual assault on September 18 2012. He was found not guilty of a second charge of attempted sexual assault involving the same victim on October 6 2012.

Dowse’s partner, who gave evidence during his trial, sobbed at the verdict and was comforted by relatives and friends who accompanied her in the public gallery.

Judge Crowson told Dowse: “A prison sentence is often what follows for this type of offending.”

The judge agreed to a request from William Davison, for Dowse, for a pre-sentence report. He will be sentenced on September 18 and was granted bail in the meantime.