Schoolgirl, 13, repeatedly forced to have sex with her long-lost father

A schoolgirl was repeatedly forced to have sex with her long-lost father after she tracked him down through Facebook, a court heard.

The 13-year-old became aware of who he was through friends and Facebook postings and found out that he was living in South Yorkshire.

After meeting her father for the first time, the teenager was invited to stay longer and her mother eventually allowed her to live with the 41-year-old.

But the man then went on to have sex with the youngster 'on a regular basis' over a six month period, Sheffield Crown Court heard.

Initially she slept on the sofa but when her father split up with his girlfriend he 'turned his attention' to his daughter, prosecutor Timothy Capstick said.

The father rubbed her back before kissing her and the next day he said she could sleep in his bed and he would sleep on the sofa. 

But during the night he crept into the bed and started having sex with his own daughter, the court heard. 

Mr Capstick said: 'She did not resist because he was her dad. She said : "I had only just met him so I went along with it".

'She said she felt like hitting out but couldn't as he was her father. It happened again over a six-month period. He would have sex with her on a regular basis, every other day.' 

The court was told she had first become aware of her father's identity at the age of 13 'through friends and Facebook'. 

He encouraged the girl to drink alcohol before having sex with her. She eventually left the house and stopped living there.

The teenager, who is now 18 and cannot be identified, first told a social worker what had happened then went to the police last year.

Police officers found old texts on the man's phone which suggested he had been having a sexual relationship with his daughter.

When arrested he initially denied having any contact with the girl and said another family member must have used the phone.

The court heard the father was given a 12-month jail term, reduced to six months on appeal, in February 2012 after he was convicted of detaining a 15-year-old girl without lawful authority.

The girl, who knew his daughter, was in local authority care and he had been served with a notice not to contact her.

Police checked his home and found the girl there although no sexual offences had taken place.

The man admitted one offence of sexually assaulting his daughter and 14 offences of sexual activity with her when she was 13.

Alison Dorrell, defending, said he now accepted having a regular sexual relationship with his daughter and knew it was wrong.

'Eventually he brought the activity to an end,' said Miss Dorrell. 

'He is very sorry and deeply regrets it and wishes he could turn the clock back. He feels sick when he thinks about it.'

The court was told that he had a drink problem, suffered from depression and his wife was worried he was a suicide risk.

He had been drinking a bottle of Jack Daniels and four to eight cans of cider a day which had affected his physical and mental health.

His wife family were supporting him and he was on medication and a special diet because of his health problems, the court heard.

Judge Simon Lawler jailed the man for six years.

He told him: 'Over a period of six months you grossly abused your position of trust. She was 13 and you were 41 and you took advantage of her.

'When interviewed the girl said she let you do it because you were her father. She did not want to lose what she felt she had gained and she felt he had played with her emotions.'

The man is already on the Sex Offenders' Register and was made subject to a Sex Offenders' Prevention Order and barred from working with children.

Culled