WEST YORKSHIRE SEX OFFENDER JAILED FOR ASSAULTING TEEN GIRL
A fairground worker who had sex with a teenage girl in a West Yorkshire field has been jailed.Already a convicted sex offender, Ryan Laing, 27, had been messaging the girl on Snapchat before having sex with her, Leeds Crown Court heard on Monday.
It was said the incident occurred in September last year, when Laing and the girl had been walking and settled in a field, where he began "nudging" her.
The court heard they started "play fighting" and then Laing "slept" with the girl.
The girl believed the activity was consensual and "stopped when she told him to stop." Her mother discovered messages between them, leading to police contact.
Laing claimed the allegations were "false" and motivated by her family's knowledge of his status as a registered sex offender.
Laing had previously sexually assaulted another teenager at age 22 and had been sentenced, subsequently breaching his sex offenders' registration requirements.
He pleaded guilty to sexual activity with a child during Monday’s hearing.
The court sentenced him to four and a half years in prison, with a requirement to serve up to half before release on licence.
The judge noted Laing's isolated lifestyle, alcohol abuse, and recent efforts to find work and education since being in custody.
