JAIL FOR MAN WHO SEXUALLY ASSAULTED TEEN IN TENT
Harry Smithson, aged 24, falsely claimed to be only 16 years old to a teenage girl who could not be identified due to legal restrictions.The girl had been sleeping in a tent close to Dolphin Bridge in Norwich.
At the time, Smithson was also residing nearby in a tent.
In reality, he was six years older than the girl, who told him she was just 14.
Prosecutor Danielle O'Donovan explained that the girl had consumed vodka with Smithson and had smoked some substance.
When she started feeling unwell, she went into her tent, but Smithson followed her.
According to Miss O'Donovan, the girl told Smithson to leave her alone, but he disrobed her, turned her over, and committed a sexual assault.
Afterward, Smithson dressed and left the tent.
The police, conducting routine patrols in the area, interviewed the victim and arrested Smithson afterward.
He was charged with causing a female aged 13 or older to engage in penetrative sexual activity, which he admitted in court on June 22.
Smithson, of College Road, Norwich, appeared via videolink from HMP Norwich for sentencing, having initially denied the charges of rape but later pleading guilty to a lesser sexual offence that involved encouraging a girl over age 13 to engage in sexual activity in August 2022.
Jailing Smithson for five years, Andrew Shaw said: "You were 20, almost 21 when this serious sexual offence was carried out against a 14-year-old child.
"You knew full well how old she was and you lied about your age in order to make yourself seem more appealing to her." Lynne Shirley, mitigating, said Smithson, who has 14 convictions for 31 previous convictions, “wishes to apologise for what’s happened on that evening”.
She said he understands he would be receiving an immediate prison sentence but had no previous history of sexual offending.
Miss Shirley said: “This young man has had a number of particular difficulties in his life." She said he had a “difficult childhood”, problems with drugs and mental health difficulties.
Smithson was also made the subject of a restraining order, banning him contacting the victim directly or indirectly for 10 years.
He was also put on the sex offenders' register indefinitely and made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) for 10 years.
