Locations
Westbourne Grove, Halifax, West Yorkshire, HX3
Description
A MAN who met an underage girl for sex after grooming her online has been locked up for six-and-a-half years.
Bradford Crown Court heard how Damien Hughes set up a fake Instagram account under the name “Simon” and sent a friend request to the teenager.
Over the next three months they exchanged messages, which became sexualised, and he sent a video of himself masturbating.
He also asked the teenager to send nude photographs of herself and encouraged her to agree to meet in a hotel for sex despite knowing she was under the age of consent.
During the school holidays they met up three times and on two occasions Hughes, now 41, had sex with the girl in his car.
The court heard that the girl tried to call a halt to the situation, but Hughes would tell her that he would miss her and was “really upset”.
The relationship was discovered when a relative of the girl spotted a message from Hughes on her phone and responded pretending to be her.
He then investigated her Instagram account and found sexually explicit photographs and videos as well as messages arranging to meet up.
The police were informed, and, on being arrested, Hughes gave “no comment” answers in an interview.
When his phone was examined it showed where he had travelled to meet the girl and CCTV footage was located that placed the pair at the scene.
A forensic examination of his car found evidence of sexual activity.
Hughes was picked out by the teenager in an identity parade but denied the offences and went to trial where he was found guilty by a jury.
In a victim impact statement read to the court by prosecutor Laura McBride the teenager said her experiences with Hughes had left her feeling “very worried, anxious, and intimidated” as he had taken advantage of her vulnerabilities.
She revealed she had undergone therapy and suffered from trust issues that had impacted other relationships.
She said: “Each day I must live with the memories and flashbacks of what he did to me.”
Sentencing Hughes, of Westbourne Grove, Halifax, at Bradford Crown Court Mr Recorder Andrew Haslam KC said he had denied his crimes “despite overwhelming evidence”.
He jailed Hughes for a total of six-and-a-half years, imposed a ten-year sexual harm prevention order, and said he must sign the sex offender’s register for life.