Description A 31-year-old man has been sentenced to eight years and six months after pleading guilty to sexual activity with children. Christian Graham Ross, of Netherfield, Milton Keynes, contacted one of the teenage girls via social media, pretending to be younger than he was. He groomed her into what she believed was a legitimate relationship and on multiple occasions, met her at his then home address in Northampton where he would ply her with alcohol and drugs before sexually exploiting her. The case came to light when someone told a teacher at the girl’s school, and they immediately informed Northamptonshire Police. Officers from the RISE team (Reducing Incidents of Sexual Exploitation) began an investigation which led to the subsequent arrest of Ross. During the investigation, it transpired that Ross had also groomed a second teenage girl from the Thames Valley Police area on the internet, before meeting her and engaging in sexual activity. Ross was subsequently charged with three counts of penetrative sexual activity with a girl aged 13-15 and one count of meeting a girl under 16 following grooming. He pleaded guilty to all four offences at two separate hearings in May and June last year. A mobile phone seized as part of the Thames Valley Police investigation and Ross was further charged with three offences of making indecent images of children. However, despite denying these offences, he was found guilty by a jury at a three-day trial. At Amersham Crown Court last Friday (April 19), Ross was sentenced to a total of eight years and six months’ imprisonment and ordered to serve a further four years on extended licence. He was also placed on the sex offenders’ register for life.