A MAN who had sex with a thirteen year old girl has been spared jail because his case took more than two years to get to court.

Martin McNair-Templeton, 23, was told by a judge on Monday that if the case had come the court sooner he would have received a two year jail sentence. But because of legal and administrative delays, Judge Ian Lawrie QC decided to suspend the sentence and let McNair-Templeton walk free from Gloucester Crown Court.

McNair-Templeton, of Paganhill, Stroud, had pleaded guilty to having sexual activity with a child under 13 on March 3, 2017 in the knowledge that she was only 13.

Sentencing McNair-Templeton to two years jail suspended for two years, Judge Lawrie said: “He is a vulnerable man, who chronologically may be eight years older than her in age, but in maturity they were much closer in age.”

He also ordered him to undertake 60 rehabilitation activity requirement days and attend monthly judicial reviews. The judge also imposed a ten-year sexual harm prevention order and ordered him to pay a victim surcharge of £140.

The judge concluded: “You need to treat women, whatever their age, with respect. You need a lot of support and this sentence should steer you along the right path.”