THE parents of a teenage girl who was encouraged to send naked pictures of herself to a 19-year-old man say they feel “let down” by the justice system.

On Thursday (March 12) Jamie Sutcliffe from Darlington was given a given a 15-month suspended prison term with supervision after admitting inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and possessing an indecent image.

The case has led a North-East MP to call for a victims' law to help them get the support they require.

At Teesside Crown Court, Judge Tony Briggs said the sentence reflected Sutcliffe’s guilty plea and the fact that he had a low IQ, but the victim’s parents have slammed the sentence for being too lenient.

They said Sutcliffe’s actions have had a profound effect on their daughter – now 16 - who never goes into town with her friends anymore for fear of bumping into him.

The victim’s stepfather said: “We couldn’t believe it (the sentence).

“It took two years for it to come to court and it’s only in the last two or three weeks that he changed his plea to guilty.

“I don’t understand why all that time he has put me and my family in this position.”

The court had heard that Sutcliffe’s mental capabilities put him in the bottom one per cent of people, but the victim’s stepfather disputed that defence.

He said: “You know right from wrong.

“Our daughter has learning difficulties too but if she did something wrong she would still be punished because she knows the difference between right and wrong and I believe that he does too.

“It (the sentence) is saying that just because he has learning difficulties it is giving him the chance to go out and commit again.”

The girl’s mother added: “They are not thinking about the victim ... she has it with her for the rest of her life.”

Sentencing Council guidelines say the starting point for an offence of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity is three years - with a range of two to six.

As well as his suspended prison sentence, Sutcliffe, who is now 21, will be on the sex offenders register for ten years.

Darlington MP and Shadow prisons minister, Jenny Chapman, described the case as "a dreadful situation for everyone involved."

"The problem here isn't just the sentence, it's also the length of time it has taken for the case to be heard," she said. "An earlier guilty plea would have saved the victim and her family months of anguish. Too often the justice system treats victims as an afterthought and they are abandoned to cope with the consequences of crime unsupported. We need a victims' law so that victims and witnesses get the support they need."