The mother of a girl who was sexually assaulted by a Fife predator said she is proud of her daughter for speaking out against her attacker when she was just seven.
Self-confessed “creep” Brandon Swindells, 28, targeted the child in the early hours of the morning after a social gathering in Kirkcaldy.
He was already banned from unsupervised contact with children.
The disgraced former support worker took the chance to abuse her when everyone else in the property was asleep on February 4 last year.
He appeared for sentencing at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court after earlier pleading guilty to entering her bedroom while she was in bed and rubbing his hand on her stomach, leg and groin area, under her clothing.
Sheriff Robert More jailed him for 15 months and put him on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years.
‘I’m just a creep’
Speaking to The Courier after the hearing, the girl’s mother thanked Sheriff More and said: “With cases like this, usually it’s hard to get it to court, let alone a prison sentence.
“I feel proud of my daughter – who was seven – the fact she came and told me straight away and cooperated, despite the fact it was a struggle giving statements and being examined as well.”
The woman said her daughter had woken her following the attack and showed her what Swindells had done.
Prosecutor Christine Allan told the court previously Swindells was confronted and began punching himself and throwing his phone around before getting a taxi.
In a text message he sent the next day to someone who was not at the gathering, Swindells said: “I’m just a f***ing creep but I’m not smashed most of the time.”
He later handed himself into police and told officers: “I need locked up, I’ve done something terrible.”
Lasting effect on brave youngster
Speaking of the impact the attack has had on her child, the woman said: “She does not sleep in her own room or bed, she sleeps beside me.
“She does not want to go to school.
“She has been left with anxiety and thinks something bad is going to happen to me.
“Asked why, she said because I was the person she came and got and if I die, who would protect her.”
The woman said she hopes to get her daughter more psychological support through a GP.
On the sentence, she said: “Nothing will be enough for what happened to my daughter – she has to live with this the rest of her life.
“I really hope he learns from this and does not act upon his attractions again because I would not like this to happen to anyone else.”
Sheriff’s praise for girl
Swindells, formerly of East Street in St Monans, also previously admitted breaching special bail conditions, to which he was made subject in January 2022.
Following a court hearing in relation to child abuse files he later admitted accessing, dad Swindells had been released on the basis he had no unsupervised contact with any child under 16, except his own.
While he carried out his sick attack on the girl, he breached the condition by being unsupervised in the room.
The girl’s mother told us she was unaware at the time he was on bail for indecent images – a crime for which he was later sentenced to an 18-month community payback order.
She also lodged a victim impact statement with the court this week.
In his sentencing remarks, Sheriff Robert More praised the dignity and fortitude demonstrated by the family, as well as their decorum in court.
The sheriff said it was appropriate to acknowledge the girl’s bravery and intelligence through her reaction which, for someone so young, was “quite remarkable”.
Sheriff More described her as a “credit to her family”.
Indecent images
Defence lawyer Iain McCafferty had argued for a non-custodial sentence.
The solicitor said Swindells’ remorse was shown by the fact he took himself to the police station and indicated he needed to be dealt with.
Mr McCaffery said his client’s “disinhibition” through alcohol has been a problem and his current abstinence minimised the risk.
The lawyer said his is on a community order for the indecent images offence and has not offended since.
In March last year, weeks after the attack, Swindells admitted taking or making indecent images of children between August and December 2021.
Police raided his former home in Westwood Avenue, Kirkcaldy and analysis of his mobile phone revealed 25 abuse images, including six graded Category A – the most graphic kind.
He lost his job as a result.
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