Young girl sexually assaulted by Rushden man has 'lost her sparkle'
The mum of a young victim of a paedophile who sexually assaulted her in Rushden has told a court how the abuse has affected her.
Scott Butterworth, of Nippendale, Rushden, has been jailed for the three assaults on a primary school-aged girl that took place over a long period of time.
The 50-year-old stood trial for the offences – which he denied – in November, 2025, and was found guilty of two counts of sexual touching and one count of inciting a girl under the age of 13 to engage in sexual activity.
The court heard that on one occasion he placed the girl’s hand on his penis against her will while they were unexpectedly alone. He told her not to tell anyone what had happened, but she bravely did find the strength to tell someone.
Butterworth suffers from Tourettes and was affected by tics during his trial and sentencing hearing. He sat with an intermediary in court.
The judge said that although his condition had some bearing on the origin of the offences, it did not excuse what he did.
In a victim personal statement read in court, the girl’s mother said that her daughter had ‘lost her sparkle’, adding that she had become emotional at times and had lost her ability to carry out simple tasks since the incident.
In mitigation, barrister Henry James told the court that his client was of previous good character and had ‘very significant’ mental health issues.
He said that there were many members of his family who were reliant on him, adding: “He’s a practical, helpful and kind man who does everything he can to help his family.
"It’s going to be devastating should he go to prison.”
Sentencing Butterworth, Recorder Michael Burrows said that the most serious incident lasted for a matter of seconds, adding: “That may reflect the realisation that what you had done was wrong.”
He was asked to rule on whether, given the unusual circumstances of the case that cannot be reported to protect the victim’s identity, Butterworth had a position of trust over the girl.
"You had a significant level of responsibility over her,” he said. “You did abuse her trust.
"I realise that prison will be very hard to you. You’ll struggle to cope in prison.
"It will also be hard for your family.”
Nevertheless, he ordered Butterworth – who cried as he was sentenced – to serve three years in prison, of which he will be incarcerated for half. He was also given a seven-year sexual harm prevention order. During this time he will be banned from having any unsupervised contact with any girl under the age of 16.
Several members of his family were in court to support him.