Walsall man jailed after having sex with girl, 15
A man who started a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old girl has been locked up for four years.
Timothy Micklewright, aged 37, took the victim to his home on May 26 last year, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.
Mr Andrew Wilkins, prosecuting, said there had been some sexual contact between the two before then with her sending six images of herself, five of which were intimate.
When she visited Micklewright and went to the bedroom he took his clothes off and undressed her before sexual activity took place, the court was told.
Mr Oliver Woolhouse, defending, declared: “When she asked him to stop he did.
“The relationship had lasted some weeks and I accept there was an element of grooming but she sent the images without invitation and she never complained to police about this. He told them.”
The lawyer maintained the defendant acted out of character after turning to drink to ‘self medicate’ the feeling of depression that followed his suspension from work during an investigation.
He was the manager of a bookmaker branch where money had allegedly disappeared but was exonerated by the inquiry which concluded it had been a banking error.
Micklewright, who was of previous good character and from Proffitt Street, Walsall, admitted sexual activity with a child under 16 and possession of indecent images.
“The nature of the offence and its stigma means he will have to live with this for the rest of his life,” concluded Mr Woolhouse.
The defendant was jailed by Judge Amjad Nawaz who told him: “There had been some interest shown by the girl but the age difference was quite significant and the fact is that you were an adult and she was a child. You should have known better.”
Micklewright was given a four-year prison sentence and made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order which bans him for unsupervised contact with girls aged under 16.
