UPDATE: |Teen had sex with missing child before police found her hiding under his bed News

Toby Ashley, now 21, has shown ‘genuine remorse’, a court heard

A young man admitting have sex with a ‘vulnerable’ missing child as a teenager. Toby Ashley, now 21, was caught by police after he had had sex with a girl, who was under the age of 13.

Officers found her hiding under a bed in a flat in Rochdale. The girl said she was going out to meet a relative but when they failed to show up, she was told she could stay out ‘for a few hours’, prosecutor Eve Salter told Manchester Crown Court on Friday (April 11).

She was ‘nowhere to be seen’ when she was due to be collected. Six text messages sent to her went unanswered.

Police were alerted and she was tracked her down to a flat in Rochdale the following day. Officers ‘gained entry’ and could hear two voices saying ‘shhhh’, Ms Salter said.

They found the defendant, who told them he had not seen the girl for a week, but police discovered her hiding under a bed.

Then under 18, the defendant was arrested. Analysis of swabs taken from the girl revealed the defendant’s DNA, Ms Salter said. The court heard there was evidence of ‘planning’ and that the girl was ‘vulnerable’.

Ashley has no previous convictions, Sara Haque, defending said. She argued her client should receive a community rather than a prison sentence because of his lack of maturity at the time of the offence.

Judge Matthew Corbett-Jones said the girl was ‘vulnerable’. The judge noted the girl ‘has never co-operated’ with the police investigation and was never formally interviewed by officers.

“It’s clear from the evidence she was a willing participant in the sexual activity that you engaged in,” Judge Corbett-Jones told the defendant.

The judge said there was also evidence the girl had ‘lied to you about her age’. He added: “You have consistently maintained you believed her to be 15 years of age and I accept on the basis of evidence before this court that was your belief,” said the judge, who added: “There’s no evidence of coercion, exploitation or pressure placed upon her by you.”

Judge Corbett-Jones added that the defendant was somebody who ‘might be regarded as being vulnerable’ as he had been in the care of the local authority at the time of his crimes. The defendant had felt ‘isolated’ after being separated from his family, said the judge.

Ashley had shown ‘genuine remorse’, he said. Ashley, of Watermill Close in Milnrow, Rochdale, was handed an 18-month community order after admitting two offences of sexual activity with a child.

He was also ordered to complete 26 sessions of the ‘Building Choices’ program run by the Probation Service, as well as 15 rehabilitation activity days. Ashley was also ordered to carry out 160 hours of unpaid work and to pay a £22 victim surcharge.