A former Suffolk man who sexually assaulted a five-year-old girl after a sex offenders’ programme he’d been ordered to attend was cancelled has successfully applied to have a sexual offences prevention order lifted.

Ipswich Crown Court heard on Tuesday, May 4 that although David Veness had initially been classed as being at “high risk” of reoffending he was now viewed as “low risk” and was keen to move on with his life.

Veness, also known as Wright, was ordered to receive treatment in 2011 after being caught with 600 child porn pictures on his computer - but because of a lack of funds the scheme was shelved.

Jailing Veness in 2013 for two years and eight months for sexually assaulting the five-year-old girl Judge David Goodin branded him a danger to young girls.

He added that it was “a matter of great regret” that two years into a three-year order the treatment programme had not started.

He said this was initially because Veness had been on holiday but since then he had been given two start dates in March and October 2012 which had been cancelled because of “insufficient resources”.

The judge said the Thames Valley Treatment Programme had been an important part of a three-year community order imposed at Ipswich Court in March 2011 after the indecent images were found on Veness’s computer.

Veness was arrested again in 2013 after a friend told police he had seen indecent pictures of naked girls on Veness’s mobile phone.

When the phone was examined officers found 46 indecent images of children and film footage Veness had taken of himself sexually assaulting the five-year-old while she was asleep.

Veness, 32, formerly of St George’s Road, Lowestoft, but now of Hobart Drive, Norwich, admitted sexual touching, two offences of taking indecent pictures of a child, downloading indecent images of children, breaching a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) and failing to notify police of a change in his address under the terms of the Sex Offenders’ Register.

In addition to jailing him for two years and eight months in 2013 Judge Goodin imposed an extended licence period of three years because of the danger he represented to young girls. Veness was also ordered to sign on the Sex Offenders’ Register and made the subject of an indefinite sexual offences prevention order.

After hearing from a public protection officer on Tuesday that Veness was now considered at low risk of reoffending, Judge Emma Peters agreed to Veness’s application to have the SOPO discharged.

He will remain on the sex offenders register indefinitely.