A WREXHAM man has been jailed after meeting a vulnerable schoolgirl he had sexually groomed online.

Jerome Davies, 23, of Roseweood Avenue, will serve 22 months after he admitted meeting the 15-year-old, following an intense five day period of chatting on social media, which included him confessing that he loved her. Before they met, Davies had explained to the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, in explicit terms, what he would do to her.

Messages between the pair quickly became sexualised, the court heard, with Davies making it clear to his victim, who has autism, that he was interested in having sexual activity with her.

Myles Wilson, prosecuting, said Davies had acknowledged during the chats that he could “get into trouble” and that it was against the law, but he proceeded anyway. The incident came to light when the girl’s parents reported her missing on February 18 last year. Police officers quickly tracked Davies down to Wrexham town centre and when they spoke to him, he admitted he had been with the victim all day. Despite being arrested under caution, the 15-year-old victim did not want to make a complaint against him.

Mr Wilson went on to say how a police investigation uncovered “an extraordinary number” of messages that had between exchanged between the pair over the course of just five days, after the girl had added Davies as a friend on Facebook. The defendant had been made aware of her age almost immediately.

In a victim impact statement, which was written by the victim’s mother, she said her daughter did not have the “mentality” of other children of the same age. She went on to say how she had struggled to sleep the incident and when she did, had suffered nightmares. The girl had also since lashed out at school and written a letter to her teacher claiming “she wanted to die”.

Simon Rogers, defending, admitted his client was “not the most sophisticated individual” and “doesn’t come across as someone who is very intelligent in any way”, before adding it was clear he was a young man who had his own issues. Davies had no previous convictions and had been “misled” by the victim as to when she was turning 16, he added.

Jailing him for a period of 22 months, Judge Rhys Rowlands told Davies he had “undoubtedly pressurised” his vulnerable victim and there was “no doubt” he was aware of the risk he was taking in engaging with the girl.

Judge Rowlands also made Davies the subject of a 10 year sexual harm prevention order, and a restraining order was also put in place for five years.