‘Animal’ jailed for more sex offences

7:08pm Monday 20th October 2008

“HE IS not a man, he is an animal” — this is how a 44-year-old who has been jailed for having sex with a 15-year-old girl has been described.

David Hart, formerly of Springhead Road, Northfleet, was sentenced to three years and 10 months in prison by Maidstone Crown Court on Monday.

The electrician pleaded guilty to charges of inciting the girl to engage in sexual activity, engaging in sexual activity with her, taking indecent photographs of her and making an indecent photograph of her.

He also admitted another charge involving a child porn photograph of the highest category five level.

Hart was already serving a 15-month jail term for sexual offences against the same girl, after pleading guilty to touching her and making indecent images of her in June this year.

The court was told on Monday police then discovered the new photographs hidden at his home revealing he had had sex with the girl.

The new photographs were found on a memory stick and DVDs which were hidden under decking at Hart’s old home.

Hart claimed he had hidden them to prevent the material being found by others.

However, jailing him and ordering that he remain on the sex offender’s register for life, Judge Jeremy Carey said he considered the real reason was Hart had wanted to look at the material again.

He said: “This court has no option but to impose a substantial sentence.”

Mitigating, John Connor, said if the further offences had not come to light Hart would have been released on October 7.

He told the court Hart hid the memory stick after panicking after “self preservation kicked in”.

Speaking after the sentencing, the girl’s father said: “I hope Hart’s time in prison is as uncomfortable as possible because the damage he has done to our family is massive.

“He groomed my daughter, manipulating her into having sex with him.

“He is not a man, he is an animal.”

Hart was first arrested on August 7 last year after the girl’s parents discovered text messages she had sent him and a scrapbook she kept of memorabilia from their relationship.