A MAN who took pictures as he sexually abused a young child has been told he is facing a lengthy jail term.

Kevin Cousins pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault of a child aged four or five years old between September 2016 and March last year.

The 37-year-old, who cried in the dock throughout the hearing, also admitted taking two indecent photographs of the youngster between the same dates.

Cousins, of Forest Road, Melksham, admitted three counts of possessing indecent images of children when he appeared before magistrates.

Clair Fear, defending, told Swindon Crown Court her client had mental health issues having suffered from depression and anxiety.

Judge Tim Mousley QC adjourned the case to Thursday, March 1 to give the probation service time to compile a pre-sentence report.

He said he wanted the author to consider whether Cousins presented a significant risk of serious harm by future offending.

The judge told Cousins: “You must prepare yourself for a long sentence, do you understand. I will grant you bail in the meantime.”

He freed him on condition he does not contact witnesses in the case or have unsupervised contact with children.

Cousins was also told that he will have to register as a sex offender with the total time he will continue to do so determined by the sentence he receives next month.