Paedophile jailed at appeal court

A paedophile who groomed and abused an 11-year-old girl while on her school lunch break has had a non-custodial sentence replaced with a jail term.

Jon Dixon, 20, of Eccles, Greater Manchester, pleaded guilty to meeting a child following sexual grooming, sexual assault of a child and attempted rape.

He was given a community order at Manchester Crown Court in May, with a three-year supervision requirement.

Judges at the High Court quashed the sentence and jailed him for two years.

The decision was made by Sir Igor Judge, sitting with Mr Justice Simon and Mr Justice Akenhead in London, who agreed with the Attorney General Baroness Scotland that the original sentence was "unduly lenient".

'Welcomed' sexual activity

Sir Igor ordered Dixon to surrender to custody within 24 hours.

Manchester Crown Court had heard how Dixon told the girl to lie to her parents as he arranged to meet her at a shopping centre and school, after the pair met through the internet.

The pair exchanged 900 text messages over a two-week period, after the girl first claimed to be 20 years old.

After the girl told him she was 12 he continued to "pursue" her, the court heard, with more sexual text messages and asking for pornographic photos before they met up.

Judge Robert Atherton, who ordered Dixon to sign the Sexual Offenders Register for five years in May at Manchester Crown Court, said the girl "welcomed" sexual activity which was not forced, was "inappropriately aware" of sex, and Dixon had not specifically sought out a child on the internet.

But the appeal judges said that children in the victim's position had to be "protected from themselves".

A statement issued later on behalf of the Attorney General said she had referred the sentence given to Dixon to the Court of Appeal "because she considered that the sentence did not properly reflect the seriousness of the offence".