A MIDDLE aged man’s grooming of an underage girl culminated in him sending her a message asking if he could have sex with her.

Nigel Fulton followed it up by sending a social media message urging the girl to “be careful”, but asking her to text him the answer.

Durham Crown Court was told he offered her “a deal” to pay her £250 a year to wear revealing clothing and high heel shoes.

On the night he sent her the request for sex he warned the girl that the “deal” would be off if she showed anyone his earlier text.

But his desires failed to be fulfilled as the girl was “uncomfortable” at the messages and showed her father, resulting in police being informed.

Fulton was arrested the following day and told police he had befriended the girl on Facebook, but he was to claim that the messages that night were meant for his partner and were mistakenly sent to the girl.

She was subsequently spoken to by police and told officers of Fulton’s previous offer of the “deal”.

Fulton was further interviewed and asked about “the deal”, which he denied making, telling police, “that would be sick”.

Forty-nine-year-old Fulton, of Henry Street South, Murton, County Durham, previously denied inciting a girl aged 13 or over to engage in sexual activity.

But, about a month before his scheduled trial, he changed his plea and admitted the charge.

The sentencing hearing was told Fulton’s activities have had a great impact on the girl, who has since self-harmed, fallen behind with school work and sought counselling from three different experts.

Amanda Rippon, for Fulton, said he has only one previous relatively minor conviction, with the inappropriate messaging of the girl taking place over only a few months.

She said it has had a “considerable impact” on Fulton’s own family relationships.

“He’s coming to terms with his offending in this way, realising what he did was very wrong and trying to work out why he did what he did.”

Miss Rippon told Judge Christopher Prince that the opportunity to actually indulge in sex with the girl, “never arose, as the text message was seen by her father”.

Jailing him for three years and two months, Judge Christopher Prince told Fulton: “You intended to try to groom and persuade this girl to engage in sexual intercourse with you.

“That was the purpose of your incitement.”

Fulton was also made subject of notification as a sex offender, for life.