A gardener from St. Florence has been gaoled for three years for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl. Forty-five-year-old Brian James had been due to stand trial at Swansea Crown Court accused of rape, but at the last moment he entered a guilty plea to a lesser charge which was accepted by the prosecutor. Chairman of the village floral committee, James, of Green Hayes, assaulted the girl on May 27 in an alley as he made his way home from a pub. James's barrister said his IQ bordered on someone with learning difficulties. He still lived with his mother and led an isolated life. James was also made the subject of a three-year extended licence period which would begin after his release. He was also banned from working with, or associating with, children under 16.
