Fairground worker had sex with underage girl in Pontefract field after Snapchat grooming
A fairground worker groomed a child online before taking her to a field to have sex with her.
Traveller Ryan Laing was jailed at Leeds Crown Court this week having admitted sexual activity with a child.
The 27-year-old paedophile, who already has a sexual conviction involving a child, was initially charged with rape, but the alternative charge was accepted by the Crown.
The court heard that Laing began to contact the girl, who was 13 years younger than him, over a period of a few months.
They met up on several occasions and she formed the impression they were in a romantic relationship, the court was told.
Then in early September they met up and went to a field in the Pontefract area. They were play fighting before having sex.
The girl later said it was consensual and Laing did stop when asked. They remained in contact and Laing later told her he loved her.
But the girl’s mother then found out through the messaging and the police were called.
Laing, of no fixed address, was arrested and during his interview denied wrongdoing and said the accusations stemmed from public knowledge of his previous conviction.
He denied sexual contact with the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons.
Laing appeared in court over a video link from HMP Leeds where he was being held on remand.
The court heard he was previously given a community order at Bradford Crown Court for sexually assaulting a teenager. He had stroked a 15-year-old’s leg and put his hand up her shorts.
He had been put on the sex offender register, which he had later breached.
Mitigating, Anastasis Tasou said Laing was aware he would receive a custodial sentence.
He said he lived an “isolated life” and was “sexually inexperienced”. He said he had been living alone in a trailer on a traveller site and was regularly “drinking himself into a stupor”.
Judge Alex Menary said he was “satisfied there had been grooming behaviour” with Laing’s latest offending.
He jailed him for 56 months, gave him a lifelong sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) and put him on the sex offender register for life.
Laing was also handed a lifelong restraining order to prevent him contacting the girl.