A 53-year-old man was convicted yesterday of sex offences against a schoolgirl more than 20 years ago.

Pernell Brangman committed a string of sex offences against the woman, who was aged 10 and 11 at the time.

The Supreme Court jury returned a unanimous verdict after less than two hours of deliberation.

They found Brangman, from Southampton, guilty on two charges of sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of unlawful carnal knowledge.

The offences happened between June 1997 and September 1998.

Brangman was aged 31 and 32 at the time and a footballer for Southampton Rangers.

The victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, told the court that Brangman “manipulated me into doing some hideous sexual acts”.

The woman told the court that over the two summers she had been left home alone and the defendant would stop by on a regular basis.

She told the court that she had complained several times about only having bologna sandwiches for lunch and the defendant offered her fast food and “trinkets” if she let him perform sex acts on her.

The woman testified that she eventually told him to stop and revealed her ordeal to no one for more than a decade.

She said she did not file a police report until 2017 because she felt “ashamed” and that she had done something wrong.

She told the court: “I kept seeing him in public. It just ate me up every time.

“I finally knew that it was time to report it so I can continue to heal and move on with my life.”

Brangman did not give evidence and remained silent as he was taken from the court in handcuffs to a waiting prison service van. He will be sentenced at a later date.