Locations
Park View Crescent, Chelmsford, Essex, CM2
Description
Paul Mountain, 26, was sentenced to five years and three months at the conclusion of his trial at Chelmsford Crown Court
A Great Baddow "menace" jailed for the rape of a 15-year-old girl and the sexual touching of a 14-year-old was on bail for grooming a vulnerable teen when he was arrested, a court heard.
Paul Mountain, 26, was sentenced to five years and three months at the conclusion of his trial at Chelmsford Crown Court yesterday (February 27).
Mountain, formerly of Park View Crescent, was arrested by Essex Police after raping a girl, on June 1, 2013 and sexually touching another girl on three occasions between July and September 2013.
Neither victims can be named for legal reasons.
Mountain was found guilty by a majority jury for rape, and unanimously on the three counts of touching, which the jury found to have a sexual element.
Prosecutor Emma Nash spoke of the rape victim's particular vulnerabilities, and claimed that Mountain was well aware of them.
The court heard that Mountain, who has ADHD and is on anti-depressants, was on bail for another sex crime at the time of his arrest and has only recently completed a custodial sentence for grooming and sexually abusing another 14-year-old girl.
Defence counsel Jacqueline Carey said: "Mr Mountain is actually extremely vulnerable himself. He gets on better with young people than with people his own age.
"He cuts a rather forlorn character. He hoped for a career in biking. There's a concern for his well-being in custody. He's not been placed on a sexual offences course or rehabilitated.
"He's someone with not a positive outlook but he does have the support of his mum and step-dad."
Sentencing Mountain for rape, Judge Emma Peters said: "You were a grownup and she was a child. As well as that, she was a vulnerable child.
"It is clear you are in a category of low intelligence, and have a number of psychological problems. It is also clear you are a man with vulnerabilities, but at times you are manipulative when you want to get your own way.
"You took her for a walk, you knew what you were doing. When you sat opposite her you produced a condom and said 'let's have sex'.
"She didn't want to have sex, she told you she didn't want to do that. She is more damaged now than she was before she met you."
Commenting on the sexual touching charges, Judge Peters added: "You came into contact through friends. At no point did she ever tell you she wanted more from you than to be a friend.
"To find herself receiving unwanted attention would be very upsetting for her."
A sexual harm prevention order was already in place against Mountain, who will remain on the sex offender's register for life.
"You have been a menace to young girls, young girls whose innocence you have taken away. I very much hope that you will be rehabilitated so that when when you're released you can start to associate with women of an appropriate age," said Judge Peters.
"If you keep coming back to young girls, it will come back to you. For the rest of your days you will have to register with the police. Young girls will be safe from you."
Commenting on the fact the case took more than three years to reach trial, she said: "I make no criticism of Essex Police. But this particular team in this particular case took far too long. You should have come to court much earlier."
Mountain was sentenced to four years and nine months for rape, and six months for each count of sexual touching, to run consecutively to each other, but concurrently to the rape sentence.
He will serve 31 months in custody before being released on licence.