A REGISTERED sex offender has been jailed for 35 months for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in a Stourbridge graveyard.

Robert Osbourne lured the victim away from her friends by asking her to show him where the water tap was in the graveyard and then sexually touched her.

The 48-year-old, who was already on the sex offenders register, was jailed for 35 months at Wolverhampton Court on November 10, after pleading guilty to sexual assault of a female over 13 and breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

Osbourne had approached a group of children and asked to sit on the bench with them before making conversation.

He persuaded the girl to move away from her friends by asking her to show him where the water tap was and then assaulted her. The incident took place on October 22, 2021.

The girl bravely reported the incident a few days later.

Osbourne was spotted in the Stourbridge area. Officers found CCTV and he was identified by his sex offender manager.

As well as being handed a 35 month jail term Osbourne was also given a new SHPO which has strict conditions.

DC Adrian Jackson, from the Sandwell and Dudley Child Abuse Investigation Team, said: “We would like to praise the bravery of the girl in reporting Osbourne’s assault.

“Her courage gives confidence to others to come forward and report sexual abuse. You will be listened to, you will be believed, and you will be supported - from your initial contact all the way to court.

“I would also like to thank her family for their support throughout the case.”