[A] MAN has been handed a six-year prison sentence for engaging in sexual activity with a teenage girl.
Billy Charles Ward, 28, was sentenced at Carlisle Crown Court for offending against a victim aged in her early teens.
At a previous court hearing Ward had admitted five charges of sexual activity with a child. He wept in the court dock this afternoon (TUES) as details of his criminal conduct were outlined.
In a letter outlining the effect of his illegal activity, the victim wrote: “I can’t say how I will feel about this in the future. Right now I just want it to be over.”
Ward was said by his lawyer to have shown “palpable remorse both for what he has done and the impact he has caused”.
Sending him to prison, Judge Barbara Forrester told him he was guilty of “total selfish exploitation” of the girl.
Ward, of Serpentine Road, Kendal, must sign the sex offenders’ register and abide by the terms of a sexual harm prevention order – both indefinitely. His case will also be reported to the Independent Safeguarding Authority.
