A former teaching assistant from Southport has been jailed after using a football club where he coached to groom a young pupil.
David Jones 33, of Loxley Road, was sentenced to three and a half years in prison and forced to sign the Sex Offenders Register for life after touching the boy inappropriately and asking the boy to engage in sexual acts.
Liverpool Crown Court heard how Mr Jones took an “instant liking” to the child upon meeting each other in school, inviting the boy to join a football club where he coached. Mr Jones exchanged text messages and offered lifts to strike up a friendship with the boy.
Mr Jones denied the offences, instead being found guilty by a jury. The football coach pled guilty to a separate offence where he created a fake Instagram profile, posing as an 11-year-old girl, asking another boy to send naked images.
The victim eventually revealed the situation to his parents after hearing that Mr Jones had contacted them to request a meeting to address rumours about him.
Judge Anil Murray said that Jones “selected the boy for grooming due to your sexual attraction to him from the beginning. I am satisfied you present a serious risk to boys.”
Defending Jones, Hugh Barton said that the defendant “is a man who struggles with his identity”. Jones now works at a salad production company.
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