A 72-year-old man has been jailed for four-and-a-half years after being found guilty of indecently assaulting an eight-year-old girl.

John Azopardi, retired, of Sterling Road, Sittingbourne, denied assaulting the girl in Sittingbourne on two occasions between 2001 and 2003, but was found guilty by a jury at Maidstone Crown Court on Friday.

He had earlier admitted distributing and making indecent images of children. He distributed images and video downloaded from the internet to people in America and Northumberland, but one recipient in America was an undercover FBI agent, the court heard.

He was sentenced to three-and-a-half years for indecent assault and one year for distributing and making indecent images, to be served consecutively.