JORDAN KNIGHT OF SEAHAM FACING CHARGES AND SENTENCED FOR SEXUAL OFFENCES IN DURHAM
In 2021, Jordan Knight, a 26-year-old from Mansell Crescent, Peterlee, appeared at Durham Crown Court via video link from a nearby prison, to deny accusations of breaching a court order by having unauthorized contact with a 15-year-old girl.Knight is accused of communicating with the girl and engaging in illicit exchanges between October 14 and 17, violating a Sexual Harm Prevention Order issued on June 7, 2017.
Prosecutor Phillip Morley stated that the girl told police she believed she had informed Knight she was 15 via a Snapchat message.
Defense lawyer Lewis Kerr emphasized that the key issue was Knight’s belief about the girl’s age.
Judge James Adkin adjourned the case for a trial scheduled to begin on March 21, lasting up to three days, and ordered Knight to remain in custody until a pre-trial hearing on December 10.
In a separate incident in 2017, Knight, then 20, was sentenced to two years and four months in prison after threatening a 13-year-old girl to send him more explicit pictures, using blackmail and intimidation tactics.
He persuaded the girl to send five nude images, but when she refused to send additional photos through social media and phone conversations, Knight screenshot the images and threatened to publish them online and share them with her friends and family unless she went to a local shop topless.
He further threatened that he and friends would gang rape her and sell her into prostitution if she did not comply, warning her that he would self-harm if she contacted police.
Jane Waugh, prosecuting, explained that the girl did report Knight to authorities, leading to his arrest and interviews, during which Knight admitted to receiving the images and making sexual comments.
Additionally, Knight was questioned about online exchanges with another 13-year-old girl, where he had sent an explicit image of himself and requested more, though he claimed he could not recall these chats.
The court noted that Knight, now 21, was aware both girls were under 16.
Knight was convicted of two counts of causing or inciting a girl under 16 to engage in sexual activity and one count of distributing indecent images.
Defense counsel Laurie Scott argued that the girls lived far apart, with one in Wales, and believed Knight was unlikely to act on his threats, suggesting his behavior was immature and attention-seeking.
She described his threats as idle and expressed that Knight was genuinely remorseful.
Judge Christopher Prince sentenced Knight to prison and ordered him to register as a sex offender and adhere to a ten-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order, citing the troubling element of blackmail involved in his conduct.
