A man whose partner was in the hospital caring for their sick baby used the opportunity to strike up a relationship with her 14-year-old daughter, resulting in a pregnancy. The man, who was 22 while his partner was 35, as recently sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison for his crimes, which began back in 2011.
- The girl’s mother didn’t find out about the relationship until 2018. While the first incidents took place in 2011, it wasn’t until 2018 that she confessed the truth to her mother and the pair went to the police. While the man, whose name hasn’t been released to protect the victim’s family, initially denied any wrongdoing, he eventually pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual activity with a child, the Leicester Mercury reports.
- Instead of leaving the mother when things became rough, the man befriended the daughter instead. When the man and his former partner had a baby and the baby was ill, the mother spent a lot of time caring for the infant. The man, who was 12 years her junior, still wanted to go out partying with her friends and the pair often felt themselves at odds. While she cared for the baby, he cozied up to the 14-year-old daughter and eventually began a sexual relationship with her, resulting in the pregnancy. The victim says she had never had sex prior to her experience with the man.
- The victim lied to her mother about the pregnancy. She hid her relationship with her mother’s boyfriend and instead said a boy at school had gotten her pregnant but refused to say who. She decided to keep the baby. However, when she got pregnant a second time a year later, the man convinced her to have an abortion.
- While the victim didn’t refuse the man’s advances, she was a child and not in a position to accept them. As prosecutor Phil Gibbs said during the sentencing hearing on Monday, May 18 at Leicester Crown Court, “A child resulted from these sexual liaisons and obviously that’s a gross breach of trust, having been in a relationship with the mother of the complainant. The complainant found herself in the position where she couldn’t tell her mother and couldn’t reveal who the father was. The defendant was not supportive of the pregnancy and she was left to deal with the consequences.” The man, who appeared via video link, cried throughout the sentencing.
- While the man admitted wrongdoing, he insists things just “got out of hand.” His lawyer, Robert Underwood, told the judge, “He knows he should not have done what he did. He recognizes there’s no alternative other than an immediate custodial sentence. There was no coercion here – it was one thing leading to another and spiraling out of control.” Good riddance!
- He’ll spend six-and-a-half years behind bars. Judge Ebraham Mooncey handed down the sentence, telling the man, “For your own gratification you entered into a sexual relationship with the daughter of your partner, a girl who was only 14 at the time and you were 22. You should have known better yet you continued and even after the birth of the child you still continued and this is clearly unacceptable behavior.” He added, “You have robbed her of her childhood and now saddled her with a child.”
