Adam Wainwright: 'No child should have innocence taken away,' says heartbroken mum after Sheffield man's abuse
Adam Wainwright sexually assaulted a six-year-old girl, causing ‘catastrophic harm’.
“No child should ever have to have their innocence taken away like this,” a heartbroken mum said as she faced the Sheffield man who sexually assaulted her six-year-old daughter.
The defendant, Adam Wainwright, stayed silent as he was forced to hear the devastating impact his sexual offending has had on the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons.
Speaking through tears during a Sheffield Crown Court hearing, the girl’s mother said Wainwright’s actions had robbed her daughter of ‘some of her childhood’.
“[He] didn't care or have any remorse when he did that. He ran away and denied it,” she said.
The girl’s mother told a hearing held today (June 7, 2024) that while ‘no sentence passed will take back what he’s done’ she hoped the one passed could ‘reflect’ the ‘damage’ caused to her young child.
She also detailed how the girl now suffers from panic attacks, is afraid to sleep alone, and has started to fall behind at school as a result of Wainwright’s assault.
“I just hope he eventually has some remorse for what he's done, and this prevents him hurting any more children in the future. I would hate for any other child to have to go through what she has,” the girl’s mother added.
Prosecutor, Michael Morley, told the court that Wainwright, aged 32, initially sought to deny his offending, and the case was sent for trial, with the girl’s family given a date for a recording of evidence from her.
Their ordeal came to an end on Tuesday (June 4, 2024), however, when Wainwright, of Rivelin Park Drive, Stannington, Sheffield, acknowledged his wrongdoing and entered a guilty plea to a charge of sexual assault of a girl under the age of 13.
Detailing Wainwright’s criminal record, Mr Morley told the court he has 22 offences, from 16 convictions, recorded against him, but said this was his first charge for a sexual offence.
Defending, Dermot Hughes suggested Wainwright’s guilty plea was ‘evidence of genuine remorse’.
“There’s no bravery or courage in the abuse of a vulnerable girl, but it takes a degree of decency to plead guilty, albeit late in the day,” said Mr Hughes.
He continued: “Adam Wainwright has resisted the temptation that many fail to resist, in the knowledge that it will attract the stigma - that some may say is deserved - for those who abuse children.”
Mr Hughes also suggested that the sexual assault was ‘out of character’ for Wainwright, and referred the judge, Recorder Anthony Hawks, to references prepared on Wainwright’s behalf.
Jailing Wainwright for three-and-a-half years, Recorder Hawks told him: “You sexually assaulted her, the consequences are disastrous. Because of a moment of sexual madness…you’ve caused catastrophic harm.”
Recorder Hawks also made Wainwright the subject of a sexual harm prevention order, restricting contact with children under the age of 16, which will run without limit of time.
Wainwright was also told he must remain on the sex offenders’ register for life.