A 45-YEAR-OLD dad of two who used internet chatrooms to groom a 15-year-old Merseyside girl for sex has been jailed for 32 months.

Moyhez Jusab of Pendock close, Quedgeley, pleaded guilty to inciting the girl to have sexual intercourse, grooming her and two offences of possessing indecent photos of her breasts which she had sent to him.

Gloucester Crown Court heard on Tuesday that Jusab, a man of previous good character with a job as a manager, had used a false name to contact the girl via internet chatrooms when he was 'bored with his dull and troubled marriage.'

His wife has since instituted divorce proceedings.

Prosecutor Janine Wood said Jusab was arrested after the girl contacted Merseyside police on February 19, last year, to report she had been threatened by a man she knew as 'Mark.'

"She said that in the prevous 12 months she had made contact with him on Snapchat and Kik social media.

"He had sent her money and jewellery and other presents.

"He told her he loved her and he tried on occasions to book hotels for them to stay in.

"At the beginning of this time he had sent her pictures of his penis.

"He asked her to send him pictures of her. She sent him seven photos of her breast area during that period.

"In October 2014 she got a boyfriend and the defendant did not like that. He became increasingly controlling and demanding.

"He demanded that she meet him and finish her relationship with her boyfriend. He said if she didn't meet him there would be 'consequences.'

"He told her he would send all her family and friends, including her boyfriend, the photos that she had sent him of her breasts. He told her he loved her.

"He also told her he would kill himself if she did not meet him.

"She felt trapped and frightened. She contacted childline who told her to call the police."

Mrs Wood said Jusab was arrested on March 6. He handed the police a USB stick with ten saved images of the girl on it.

Interviewed by detectives he said the girl had told him she was 17 but he accepted that when he knew her true age he continued with the offending.

In a victim impact statement the girl said she hated herself for what she had done and had been self harming and having suicidal ideas.

"I have become a complete mess," she stated. "My destructive behaviour has been a way of trying to cope. I have had panic attacks.

"Because of him I don't feel I can trust anyone. I never thought a person could lie so much and for so long."

Sabhia Pathan, defending, said it was a tragic case. Yusab had used social networks as a way of 'escaping his rather dull and troubled marriage' and acted totally out of character, she said.

The site on which he encountered the girl made it clear it was for over-18s only and he initially believed the girl was that age and , later, she told him she was 17.

He accepted he found out her true age after six months of conversing with her.

Ms Pathan described the girl as a 'comfort blanket' for Yusab and said it had been a 'virtual relationship,' never a real one.

Yusab was realistic about his situation and realised he had to go to prison, she said.

Jailing Yusab, judge Michael Cullum said: "You were in a marriage which was unloving and unhappy.

"That appears to have been the catalyst for your disastrous descent into an on line relationship and criminal sexual offending.

"The labels and the restrictions that will follow you will change your life forever. "

He placed Yusab on the sex offender register for life and made a ten year sexual offences prevention order against him.

Sergeant Nigel Hatten, from Gloucestershire Police's child sexual exploitation investigation team, said:

“This is a very sad case with many typical hallmarks of child sexual exploitation.

“Firstly Jusab showered his victim with gifts to make her feel special, then drew her in to sending intimate images before finally using them to try and blackmail her.

“Thankfully the victim sought help– and the key message is that there is support there – from Childline before we became involved.

“Doing that was brave but crucial. No one should be put through what this girl was put through and if you are going through that then please don’t feel ashamed or afraid to come forward. You are a victim and we have specially trained people who can help.

“Jusab is now behind bars and will be continually monitored to prevent the opportunity to target another child.

“If you know someone who is being groomed please call us on 101.”