A NINETEEN-year-old youth flouted a warning forbidding contact with an underage girl, a court heard.

Within days of the so-called ‘harbouring notice’ being issued, in which he agreed not to contact her, Jonathan Race was regularly meeting teenage girl in woods.

Although Race claimed their physical relationship went no further than “kissing and cuddling”, examination of their messages to each other revealed more sexually explicit chat.

Durham Crown Court heard they discussed running away together, going to Blackpool to stay in a hotel, while the pair also spoke of moving into a house together, getting married and having children.

Race, now 20, of Laburnum Avenue, Crook, admitted a total of 12 charges, including five counts of meeting a girl following sexual grooming and three of inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity.

Deborah Smithies, prosecuting, said the pair met through a mutual third party, and their relationship appeared to “blossom”, to the concern of the girl’s mother.

Police were alerted as the mother feared a sexual relationship might soon follow.

Officers spoke to the girl and she told them the relationship was only at the ‘kissing and cuddling’ stage.

When Race was spoken to, he accepted the relationship was “inappropriate”, given their ages.

It resulted in the issuing of the Child Abduction Warning, or ‘harbouring notice’, on July 17 last year, in which Race agreed not to have further contact with her.

But Social Services contacted police on August 5 alleging the defendant had ignored the terms of the order, meeting her in woods.

The girl agreed they met almost daily in the two to three weeks since the notice was issued.

Race was arrested and admitted meeting her “numerous times” after the issuing of the warning notice, saying he was in love with her, although claiming she instigated the contact.

David Lamb, mitigating, said some of the messages were “in the realms of fantasy”, “man in the moon stuff”, and despite talking of running away together, Race never left the area, and no sexual activity took place beyond kissing and cuddling.

Imposing a 16-month sentence in a young offenders’ institution, however, Judge Christopher Prince told Race: “You were inciting her to engage in sexual activity with the intention she would do so and where there was a meaningful possibility it would occur.”

Race must also register as a sex offender for ten years.