Paedophile who filmed sex with 14-year-old he met on Facebook is jailed

A Teesside Crown Court judge jailed 24-year-old David Stephen Tawse for three-years-and-ten-months.

Tawse, previously of The Avenue, Stokesley and York Road, Thirsk, had admitted four charges of engaging in sexual activity with a child, one of making an indecent image and one of child abduction.

In November 2016, North Yorkshire Police’s serious crime team launched an investigation into a suspected sexual relationship between Tawse and a 14-year-old girl.

The investigation found that Tawse had struck up a relationship with the girl via Facebook in March 2016. Despite knowing that she was 14, he met up with her on a number of occasions to have sex.

Unbeknown to the girl, he filmed them having sex and used the footage to threaten the girl into carrying on the relationship.

Tawse was arrested on November 21 2016 after officers intercepted a plan to travel north with the girl by train from Middlesbrough.

Detective Constable Neil Brodhurst, of Northallerton Serious Crime Team, said: “This is a typical case of an older male grooming a young girl online for the purpose of sexual gratification.

"It reiterates why we should all be alert to the signs of sexual grooming. Often children in such a situation do not believe they are a victim, and as adults, it is all our responsibility to reinforce safety messages to our children and be alert to the signs of online grooming, inappropriate relationships and child sexual exploitation.”

Advice for parents and carers is available on the “Think u know” website www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents

If you believe you are victim of sexual crime, please contact the police on 101 or call 999 in an emergency.