Mark Harris was jailed for seven years and seven months at Swansea Crown Court
AN Afan Valley man with an "abnormal attraction to young girls" who groomed a teenager on Facebook before having sex with her has been jailed for more than seven-and-a-half years.
Mark Harris showered the girl with compliments and said he loved her — and when she ended their online contact he sliced her name into his leg and sent her a picture of the wound.
Swansea Crown Court heard 25-year-old Harris was already on the sex offenders register for life after a previous offence which involved plying a 12-year-old girl with alcohol and raping her.
Harris, of Commercial Street, Abergwynfi, had previously pleaded guilty to four counts of grooming and inciting a child — on the day he was due to stand trial — when he appeared in the dock via videolink.
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The court heard Harris contacted the girl on the social media site and an online relationship developed, which included him asking her for sexual photographs of her.
When she tried to end the relationship he "effectively blackmailed" the girl into continuing it, saying he would self-harm, and even cutting her name into his body and sending her a photograph.
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When the victim's family found out what was happening they called police, and Harris was arrested — he was found by officers hiding in an abandoned house in Scotch Street in Abergwynfi.
When questioned he falsely blamed someone else for the offending.
A statement from the young victim said the abuse had "broken her self-confidence" and left her finding it hard to trust anyone.
The court heard Harris had previously been convicted for sexual offences involving a 12-year-old — he had plied her with drink before having sex with later, later saying "When I am drunk I am sexual".
A probation report into Harris said the defendant had refused to take part in sex-offender programmes following his previous conviction, and "lacked moral conscience".
Recorder Timothy Petts told Harris it was clear the defendant was "abnormally attracted to the idea of sexual activity with underage girls", and that he "refused to accept the deviant and disgusting nature" of his behaviour.
The recorder said he had no doubt Harris posed a high risk of re-offending, and sentenced him to seven years and seven months in prison, and made him the subject of an extended five-year licence period when he his released.
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