Birmingham man had sex with girl, 14, in stairwell

May 16 2008 By Ross McCarthy

A TEENAGER exchanged texts with a 14-year-old girl and then had sex with her, a court heard.

David Jones was sentenced to eight months' detention, suspended for two years, and ordered him to do 150 hours' unpaid work.

Judge Howard Morrison QC told Jones, 19, of Oscott Lane, Great Barr: "Had you been a much older person it would have been a different case, but you were a teenager and still are."

Jones, who admitted sexual activity with a child, was also put on the Sex Offenders' Register for 10 years and ordered to pay £200 costs.

The judge said he had taken into account his guilty plea and that he had a "supportive" family.

Richard Franck, prosecuting at Birmingham Crown Court, said Jones and the girl had met in the grounds of Birmingham Cathedral and had exchanged internet chat room addresses and phone numbers.

They also communicated through text messaging and that Jones was aware of the girl's age.

In addition the two exchanged "candid" photos of each other on their phones and in April last year arranged to meet in the city centre.

They then went to the top of a stairwell at an NCP car park in Dale End where they had sex.

Some months later the girl started to exhibit disturbed behaviour and went to a hospital after taking an overdose.

She then told her mother she had been raped by someone in Birmingham city centre who then reported the matter to the police.

Philip Bradley, defending, said the disparity between their ages was not massive and that the sex was consensual.