A paedophile who had a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old boy after buying him and his friends cigarettes and alcohol has been jailed for 12 years.
Michael Hole, 39, of Newport, first encountered his victim after agreeing to buy him and his friends cigarettes and alcohol when he passed the group of boys in his car. He then invited the group back to his home where they had a drink and a smoke.
Abuse began after friends left
A sentencing hearing at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court on Thursday heard the victim stayed behind after the others left, and the defendant asked him to kneel by him and they kissed. Prosecutor Paul Hewitt said Hole asked the victim to follow him to the bedroom and they had sex. The court heard the victim suffered injury but the defendant continued.
After that day they met up on a regular basis but Hole later messaged the victim and told him to return when he was 16 years old when "things would be more legal".
Victim reported abuse after decade
More than a decade later the victim contacted the police and reported the defendant who was arrested and denied the offences, claiming he and the victim had sex when he was more than 16 years old.
Following his arrest, Hole's phone was seized and he was found with indecent images of an 11-year-old boy. These included seven category B images and 23 category C images.
Conviction and sentencing
Hole, of Broadmead Park, denied the charges against him but he was found guilty of three counts of engaging in penetrative sexual activity with a boy and two counts of possessing indecent images. The court heard the defendant was of previous good character.
In a victim personal statement read to the court by Mr Hewitt, the victim said: "I have had to live with consequences that other people will never see. I can appear fine but I'm still carrying the effect of something that happened years ago when I was still a child. I have to live with my memories and rebuild my sense of safety. What happened to me does not define me and is not my fault."
He added: "I struggle to build and maintain relationships with people because I don't trust people as I fear being used. I suffer with severe depression and anxiety which I have suffered with since I was a teenager. It still affects me today due to the long term impact of the defendant's actions."
The mother of the second victim said: "This caused me a huge amount of distress as it did to my son and my family. I have been in a state of shock and unable to fathom what happened. (My son) became extremely withdrawn and he was scared to leave the house."
In mitigation, Tabitha Walker said her client continues to deny the offences and had not previously offended before this conviction. The court heard the defendant is employed as a HGV driver and has issues with gambling, after falling into debt of £15,000.
Sentencing, Judge Celia Hughes said: "This was an appalling abuse of the trust a 13-year-old boy paid in you. You should have been an adult who recognised his vulnerability."
Hole was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment. The defendant was also made subject to a restraining order for 15 years, a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years and sex offender notification requirements indefinitely.
