Man Jailed For Molesting Teenager

A paedophile who molested a 14-year-girl after meeting her on the internet has been sentenced to 14 months in jail. Gareth Crowther, 37, of Nether Langwith, Nottinghamshire, groomed the teenager in a chat room, Gloucester Crown Court heard.

Crowther pleaded guilty to one charge of grooming and another charge of sexual activity with a child in 2005. The judge banned him from working with children in the future. He ordered Crowther to sign the Sex Offenders Register for the next 10 years.

The court heard he had been working as a school bus driver, although the girl did not use the bus he drove. Judge Martin Picton told him: “You have no good reason to make contact with a girl that age or pursue that contact. Girls of that age and experience are dangerously vulnerable to people who choose to pursue such contact as you did. The meetings shouldn’t have taken place and you shouldn’t have touched her sexually.”