Man gave girl, 15, herpes after grooming for sex
Northumbria PoliceA man who gave a 15-year-old girl herpes after manipulating her into having sex with him has been jailed for two years and nine months.
Adam Leddra was 19 when he befriended the girl on Facebook and bombarded her with praise before persuading her to have sex, Newcastle Crown Court heard.
Prosecutors said it was "classic grooming" while the girl told the court Leddra "took advantage" of her for his own "sick and twisted gratification".
Leddra, 32 and from Fatfield in Washington, admitted sexual activity with a child and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. He was jailed for 20 months in 2014 for similar offences against two other girls, committed at about the same time.
The girl was being bullied at school and had a difficult home life when Leddra started messaging her on Facebook, prosecutor Kate Barnes said.
Leddra was undeterred when told the girl's age and employed "classic grooming behaviour", showering her with compliments and telling her he was falling in love with her, the court heard.
'Pain and emotional torture'
They ended up meeting in person several times, with Leddra having sex with the girl, who found it painful, the court heard. She was diagnosed with herpes shortly after.
She also sent him some 375 indecent images of herself at his behest, with him telling her she did not love him and he would block her if she did not comply, the court heard.
The girl was "groomed, manipulated and sexually exploited", Ms Barnes said, adding it took some 10 years for the girl to have the strength to make an official complaint to police about him.
The girl told the court Leddra caused her "severe amounts of pain and emotional torture" and he sickened her to her core.
She said he made her feel like he was the only person she could trust and "pretended to be somebody I needed", but in reality he "took advantage of me and used that for his own sick and twisted gratification".
'Clear grooming'
She said he would "gaslight" and verbally insult her which "festered" into sexual abuse.
"I learned in a horrific way people can be capable of awful things," she said, adding it had taken many years for her to find the bravery to call herself a "survivor" rather than a victim.
In mitigation, the court heard Leddra had committed no further offences since those for which he was jailed in 2014, had found faith and undertaken a lot of charity work.
Recorder Carl Gumsley said Leddra appeared to be someone who had "tried to some degree at least to do some right having done the wrongs you did in relation to the various young children".
He said at the time of the offending, Leddra was simply out for his own sexual gratification and displayed "clear grooming behaviour".
A sexual harm prevention order restricting Leddra's interactions with children was made to last 10 years, along with an indefinite restraining order banning him from contacting the girl.