Internet predator gets 16 months

A 54-YEAR-OLD Nicosia man who indecently assaulted an underage girl after luring her to his house through an internet chat room was yesterday sentenced to 16 months in prison.

The first contact between them took place online in the summer of 2003.

In a phone conversation, which followed soon afterwards, the defendant posed as a 21-year-old.
During the next phone conversations, the man encouraged the girl to meet his uncle who could teach her everything there was to know about sex.

The girl was finally convinced, and in ten months, the two had had around ten meetings, always in the 54-year-old’s home.

According to reports, the meetings were always sexually related but there was never any intercourse.

The Assizes Court stressed the seriousness of the offences, noting the method he used to lure the 15-year-old girl to his home to satisfy his sexual appetite.

Having in mind that such offences are punishable with a maximum two years in prison, the court jailed the man for 16 months.

The three judges took into consideration his admission as well as health problems.

His admission meant the girl did not have to be present at the trial, thus sparing her further grief.
The man emerged from the courtroom looking distraught and with tears in his eyes.

He has been held in custody since July last year and that time counts towards his sentence.
The trial was held behind closed doors.

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