A PRISON sentence hangs over a “socially inept” 19-year-old who sent messages to a 13-year-old girl about meeting for sex.

Teesside Crown Court heard today (Friday, October 17) that Michael Guest was 18 when he first began messaging the girl via mobile phone and Facebook last year.

She told Guest she was 14, even though she was a year younger, and the pair exchanged messages for several weeks.

Emma Atkinson, prosecuting, said Guest asked the girl whether she could arrange to be home alone.

He also asked her to travel to his hometown of Thornaby and arrangements were later made to meet on Stockton high street – although no meeting ever took place.

Ms Atkinson said after the girl refused to visit Thornaby, Guest responded with the message: “I offered; I would have done you.”

In some messages he expressed concern at her age, saying it would be easier if she was older and he “was not risking going down for rape”.

He was arrested after the girl’s stepfather saw the messages and Guest, of Scarborough Street, Thornaby, admitted arranging or facilitating the commission of a sexual offence against a child.

Andrew Turton, mitigating, said Guest was an emotionally immature, socially naive young man who had never had a girlfriend and never had any intention of ever meeting the girl.

Judge Simon Bourne-Arton QC, the Recorder of Middlesbrough agreed, describing Guest as grossly immature, naive and socially inept.

He said his level of social skills and inexperience put him closer in age to the girl, adding that he was sentencing on the basis that he did not believe Guest would have carried out the full offence had they ever met.

Guest, who broke down in court, was given an 18-month prison sentence suspended for two years and a ten year sexual offences prevention order.