A 38-year-old man was sentenced to three-years imprisonment for two counts of serious indecent assault of a child under the age of 12 years.

Hon. Mr Justice Cooper sentenced him, after his conviction in a trial at the Supreme Court in Nuku'alofa.

The serious offences were committed in 2019.

The judge also made an order under section 119 that no detail may be published that could lead to the identification of the complainant in this case.

He said the offender was not young and did not cooperate with authorities or express remorse.

"In this case that would simply leave no hope or change. Whilst I cannot suspend as much as 12-months of his sentence there must be some identification of the fact that his previous good character must be recognized and it is sincerely hoped that this will play a feature in his rehabilitation."

The judge then suspended the final six-months of his three-years sentence for two-years on conditions.