A MAN who had sex with a highly-vulnerable 12-year-old girl he met on Facebook has been jailed for 12 years.

Usman Hussain, 28, met the girl when he was 26, and over the course of several weeks provided her with alcohol and drugs in exchange for sex.

Hussain, from Carlisle Place, Manningham, had been charged with a count of rape of a child under 13, another of oral rape of a child under 13 and a charge of sexual assault. He appeared at Bradford Crown Court yesterday, where he admitted the three offences. The court heard that Hussain had sex with the girl on a mattress in his sister’s garage.

In late 2015, the 12-year-old got into an argument with a parent and left home. She was almost immediately identified as a child at risk of child sexual exploitation, and police were called. She returned home, but police received information from a relative that linked the girl with Hussain, who they arrested shortly after.

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When they had met online, the girl had claimed she was 16. Hussain originally claimed he was 16, and the court heard that although he may not have known her real age when they first met, he became aware of it early into their relationship. He had asked her to send him naked photos.

Alistair Campbell, prosecuting, said: “They would use condoms from time to time, but not always, and on one occasion she required the morning after pill.”

He said the girl’s background meant she was “the perfect storm as far as vulnerability is concerned” and that she had been groomed. She had been sexually exploited by other men, the court heard.

Robin Frieze, defending, said there was no evidence that Hussain had been searching Facebook to start relationships with children, and he had not contacted any other young girls. He said Hussain had no knowledge of exploitation by other men.

Addressing Hussain, Judge Jonathan Rose said: “Your disgraceful, immoral and deplorable behaviour has caused a huge amount of damage. She was already extremely vulnerable, you may not have realised that she was being exploited by other men, but you should have realised she was not behaving like an ordinary 12-year-old girl. You knew shortly after you began an intimate relationship with her that she was just 12. You didn’t become disgusted with yourself after finding out. You didn’t mind. That is why you have to be classified as a paedophile. You groomed her. You were a grown man who caused a little girl to believe she was your girlfriend. Was this romance? When you look at the photos of the garage you used to carry out your depravity, it’s clear there was not an ounce of romance in this case.”

Detective Sergeant Dan Townend, of Bradford District Safeguarding Unit, said: "Hussain is a predator who has been convicted of serious child sexual offences and we hope the significant sentence he has received will provide some source of reassurance to the victim.

"We remain committed to protecting children from those who seek to exploit them and our specialist officers will continue to pursue offenders like Hussain to keep our communities safe.

"I would urge anyone who believes they have been a victim of child sexual offences to have the confidence to come forward and feel reassured we are here to help and will treat all investigations sensitively."