A MAN who continued to have sex with a teenage girl despite being told by her mother that she was only 14 years old has been jailed for four years.

Mohammed Khalid, 33, bought cannabis and alcohol for the girl during their extended relationship, which lasted from around October 2016 to December last year.

He pleaded guilty to charges of sexual activity with a child and the supply of class B drugs, with the former relating to a period between April and December 2017, the time he was aware that his partner was underage.

Khalid’s relationship with the girl involved “repeated sexual activity” between the pair, with some of the offences said to have taken place in Bradford.

Prosecutor Kate Bisset told Bradford Crown Court that Khalid’s offending came to light when the girl’s family was spoken to as part of a police investigation into child sexual exploitation in the Huddersfield area.

On December 12, they visited his home and seized his phone, which the court heard contained messages with “repeated references” about their sexual relationship.

Miss Bisset said there were also some messages over concerns about the girl becoming pregnant, with mention made of her possibly needing to take the morning after pill.

The court heard that the girl’s mother had sent messages to Khalid’s phone in April and May, with the latter outlining her date of birth and age.

The court heard that the girl did not support the prosecution’s case against Khalid, but a victim impact statement from her mother said: “She stopped being close to me the way she was before. She treated me as the enemy and isolated herself from the family.”

Miss Bisset told the court: “By April the defendant knew the girl’s age but carried on a relationship regardless.”

After an argument towards the end of their relationship, the court heard that Khalid sent a message to the girl saying he would “f**k her up” if she reported him to the police.

Nadim Ahmed, defending, said Khalid had initially been “positively misled” about the girl’s age as her dating profile she had created had stated she was 18.

He said: “We don’t have corruption of a child in the classically understood definition of the term. By the time he became aware of her age the pair were emotionally committed to each other.”

Mr Ahmed said that late in their relationship, Khalid, of Heaton Road, Huddersfield, had tried to “diminish contact” with the girl, leading her to become upset and threaten to alert the authorities.

He said: “He (Khalid) was caught between a rock and a hard place. I don’t want to use the work abused, but he has been misled. This is a situation that has come knocking on his door.”

Recorder Tahir Khan QC acknowledged Khalid’s offending was different to many grooming cases in that he had “clearly been misled” as to the age of his victim, and had not used drugs or alcohol to lower her inhibitions.

He accepted that there was “a degree of emotional attachment” between Khalid and the girl at the point when her real age was revealed. but he went on: “The relationship continued for a number of months after you knew she was underage.”

Recorder Khan made Khalid the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and told him he must register as a sex offender for an indefinite period.

Speaking after the sentencing, a spokesman from the NSPCC said: “Khalid’s victim has been through a horrific ordeal at the hands of this despicable predator.

“Child abuse has devastating and long-lasting effects on survivors’ lives and ongoing support is vital. We hope that Khalid’s conviction and imprisonment serves as a reminder that anyone who has been abused can have the confidence they will be listened to when they speak out, no matter how much time has passed.”