A HASLINGDEN father-of-two who had sex with a 12-year-old girl has been jailed for seven years and four months.

Adrian Wilson was prosecuted for rape despite the girl agreeing to sex because of her age.

Preston Crown Court heard that while on bail for that offence, he also kissed a 14-year-old girl twice on her neck in his car.

Wilson, 24, of Poplar Street, Has-lingden, had pleaded guilty to rape and also sexual activity with a child.

He had claimed that he thought the girl in the rape charge was 16.

But, after hearing evidence on the issue, Judge Christopher Cornwall found that he must have known she was 12 at the time.

Roger Green, prosecuting, said the rape took place in June last year. The defendant was at an address in Haslingden when the girl and a friend called round. That was the first time the two had ever met.

The girl said that she was 12 years old, but Wilson said she looked older, the court heard.

That evening they drank alcohol and chatted. Later on, Wilson asked her if she wanted to have sex and she said yes.

After his arrest he was found with a girl, 14, in his car, on the car park of Hyndburn Sports Centre, when he gave her two ‘love bites’ on her neck, with her consent.

Wilson had no previous convictions.

Gerard Doran, defending, said Wilson had some ‘very juvenile characteristics’.

“It seems he behaves as though he was almost still a teenager. He has hung around with people much younger than himself.

“He doesn't appear to have made the step into full adulthood.”

Wilson was told he will be on the sex offenders register for life, banned from working with children and banned indefinitely from having any unsupervised contact with any girl under 16.