A MAN exposed himself to a young girl several times after committing a sexual assault on her months before, a court heard.

Bolton Crown Court heard Colin Lee Booth sexually assaulted the girl at a house in late 2012.

He then exposed himself to her four or five times at the start of 2013.

The court heard how these incidents were brought on by Mr Booth’s alcohol use and that he was ‘distressed’.

Booth, aged 44, of Church Lane, Westhoughton, has been attending alcoholics anonymous sessions to tackle his drink problem.

Guy Mathieson, prosecuting, said: “He would consume a large amount of alcohol prior to these incidents.

“He has a similar conviction in 2011 for exposing himself to a female taxi driver.”

Brian McKenna, defending, said: “Each time the victim asked Mr Booth to stop, he did.

“This man has struggled with an alcohol addiction and it seems to have been a big factor in his life.

“This abuse seems to have been exasperated in recent years because of his financial difficulties — he was made bankrupt in 2010.

“He is ‘sick’ of his conduct and he has done his best to identify his problem and do something about it.”

Judge Timothy Stead, sentencing, said: “These offences wouldn’t have been as bad if you were immediately apologetic and had not done anything else, but on four other occasions you exposed yourself.

“But you have been sufficiently shocked by what you have done to make steps to do something about it. These steps have been significant, and I’m impressed by that."

Booth pleaded guilty to one charge of sexual assault and four charges of indecent exposure. He was given a community order to enrole on a three-year sexual offenders programme, in which he will address his alcohol abuse, and was banned from working with children.