A paedophile who had sexual activity with a 13-year-old girl on the top floor of a Stevenage multi-story car park was jailed for eight years on Thursday, December 9, 2021.
Simon Wilson, 39, from Luton, groomed the vulnerable victim when she was aged just 12 and manipulated her and her family.
His girlfriend had warned the girl’s family that she was concerned about the relationship, but initially her worries were dismissed, St Albans Crown Court heard.
Prosecutor Andrew Copeland said: “The defendant inveigled his way into her family household and groomed the vulnerable 12-year-old girl.”
On one occasion he kissed her on the lips and on another disappeared with her when they had gone to a horse-show with his girlfriend.
His girlfriend had told him to stop contacting the 13-year-old but he continued to message her privately via an X-box games console and on mobile phones.
He encouraged her to expose her naked breasts and perform a sexual act. In May this year he was back in contact with the family again.
On June 24, 2021, he collected her from school in her school uniform and took her to the top level of a multi-storey car. He took her shopping and bought her clothing.
He then had more sexual activity with her in the car. The girl’s step-mother was concerned she had not returned home and at 6pm called the defendant who brought her home.
Mr Copeland said: “It dawned on her that the defendant’s girlfriend’s concerns were justified. When she questioned them they both looked at the floor and the defendant kept saying sorry.”
He was arrested at his flat in Cardiff Road, Luton at 5am on 25 June this year. Wilson made full admissions to the police and pleaded guilty to having sexual activity with a child and causing a child to engage in sexual activity.
The girl’s father said in a statement: “Simon was my friend and I felt comfortable with him. I would I have trusted him with my life.”
Defending, Laura Collier said Wilson was “deeply sorry for the pain he caused.” She went on: “He accepts the inevitability of a prison sentence. He does not ask for forgiveness. He knows he is not deserving of it.”
Recorder Tim Clark QC told him: “You knew she was vulnerable. Her parents trusted you. You had been told to stop contact by your girlfriend, but the offending continued.
“It was over a considerable period of time and you specifically targeted your victim. What occurred was every parent’s nightmare.”
The judge said the girl’s parent should not blame themselves for what happened saying: “There is only one person to blame and that is the defendant.”
Wilson must sign the Sex Offender Register and abide by the terms of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for life.
