A one-time carnival queen judge planted "wet, slobbery kisses" on the face of an eight-year-old girl, a court heard.

Kenneth Fowler, 48, was drunk at a party when he indecently assaulted the little girl in July last year.

Fowler, of Maple Close, Woodingdean, Brighton, denied the charge but was convicted by a jury.

Yesterday the girl's mother reacted with fury when the former pillar of the community escaped a jail sentence at Lewes Crown Court.

Judge Anthony Scott-Gall told Fowler he had considered sending him to prison but because of his previous good character he imposed a three-year community rehabilitation order on condition he attends an intensive sex offender therapy programme.

He told Fowler his conduct was "deplorable" but said the decision was not a soft option. He said the programme was arduous and would require a degree of humiliation.

He said: "The public are upset and often revolted by conduct such as this. You planted wet, slobbery kisses on her face and gave her what is known as a French kiss. It is not surprising a little girl would become very upset."

Christine Laing, defending, said Fowler, who runs his own demolition business, was a hard-working family man.

She said he contributed to his local community and was a supporter of the Woodingdean carnival.

She said he was bored at the party and, after drinking throughout the event, had no recollection of the incident.

Although he denied the charge at the trial last month, she said he now accepted something had happened.

She said: "What possessed him he doesn't know. He is still at a loss to understand. This offence appears to be out of character for him and exacerbated by alcohol."

The conviction would have a major effect on his life, including his business and his charity work for the carnival.

But the girl's mother, who cannot be named to protect the identity of her daughter, said: "I'm disappointed he did not go to prison. He needs to learn a lesson."

She said Fowler was invited to the celebration at a relative's house because his wife was a family friend.

She complained the judge did not know how her daughter was still suffering when he passed sentence.

She said: "She has changed. She is so withdrawn. She is going to have counselling and I am hoping she will bounce back in time. This has had such an effect on the whole family.

"He has got his freedom while my daughter is at home cowering and scared to death. She now has nightmares. She was a normal child and now she has a really old head on young shoulders.

"I don't think the punishment was enough. A rehabilitation order seems a bit like a school detention to me. But I was so relieved and pleased when he was found guilty. Some justice was done."

Fowler is well known for his support for Woodingdean swimming pool and the annual carnival. He helped to judge the carnival queen and sponsored the baby show and fancy dress competition.

He was ordered to pay £900 costs and will be on the sex offenders' register for ten years.