A ‘NAÏVE’ young girl told her parents she was in a relationship with a boy aged 14.

But, Durham Crown Court heard that, in reality, she was in regular communication with, and later twice met 20-year-old Ryan Gary Cox for sex, fully aware of his age.

The court was told the impressionable girl believed they were in a loving relationship and exchanged messages, before complying with his requests to send naked images of herself to him.

She also followed his instruction to perform sex acts on herself and sent him pictures of her doing so, Louise Reevell, prosecuting, told the court.

Cox went on to travel to the North-East from his home in the Birmingham area for pre-arranged liaisons with the girl.

Having booked into a guest house, he took her there after telling staff she was his cousin.

Miss Reevell said they kissed and cuddled, before sexual touching took place.

When she was later questioned, the girl told police she could not recall if any sexual activity took place, but later examination of his phone retrieved messages from him relating to sexual touching and oral sex.

On a later visit, at a different guest house, they had full sex, but it only came to a halt through the doubts of the girl’s sister, who suspected Cox was older than her sibling claimed.

She went to the guest house, related her concerns to staff and police were informed.

Despite his initial claim that he was 16, he went on to admit he was, by then, 21.

Cox, of Coventry Road, Digbeth, admitted two counts each of possessing indecent images of a child, meeting a child following sexual grooming and sexual activity with a child.

Amrit Jandoo, mitigating, said their friendship developed after they were introduced through an online chat site, and both could relate to each other as they both claimed to have self-harmed.

But Deputy Circuit Judge James Spencer QC said it appears to have been more of a case of Cox taking advantage of the girl’s naivety.

“It was not so much a friendship, but a form of manipulation.”

Jailing him for five years, the judge also made Cox subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and a restraining order, “until further order”, plus registration as a sex offender, indefinitely.