A Huddersfield man has been jailed for four years after he got involved in a sexual relationship with an underage girl who claimed she was 18 on a dating website.
And as the judge sent 33-year-old Mohammed Khalid from Paddock to prison he described him as “generally a decent member of society.”
For about six months Khalid thought the teenager he shared alcohol and cannabis with was older than she was, but last year he received text messages from her mum telling him she was only 14.
Despite being told her age Khalid, of Heaton Road, Paddock, carried on in the relationship until the end of last year and when the teenager said she was going to contact the police he threatened her.
Khalid, who had no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to charges of sexual activity with a child and supplying cannabis after a police investigation into child exploitation in the Huddersfield area uncovered his relationship with the teenager, who cannot be identified for legal reasons.
His barrister Ahmed Nadim submitted that it was not the usual type of case involving the targeting of a complainant and grooming behaviour and he referred to the girl’s dating site profile in which she said she was interested in liaisons with men aged 18 to 34.
Mr Nadim said his client had been “positively misled” when he started the relationship, but it was accepted that Khalid had continued seeing the girl after he knew she was underage.
He suggested that by the time Khalid found out the girl’s true age they were “emotionally committed to each other”, but said his client had been trying to “disengage” from the relationship.
Recorder Tahir Khan QC said it was clear that the complainant had gone on the dating website purporting to be 18 and looking for a relationship.
He explained that the Sentencing Council guidelines for such offending indicated a starting point for sentence of five years, but if Khalid had been found guilty after a trial he could have received a six year prison term.
Recorder Khan said after reading references in support of Khalid and the defendant’s own “letter of apology” he had come to the conclusion that he was “generally a decent member of society.”
Because Khalid indicated his guilty pleas at an early stage Recorder Khan said he was entitled to maximum credit and the appropriate sentence was four years in jail.
Khalid will also have to register as a sex offender with the police for the rest of his life and he must also comply with a sexual harm prevention order.
