JAMEL HOANG IN LUTON AVOIDS PRISON FOR SEXUAL OFFENSE AGAINST UNDERAGE GIRL

In March 2007, a 24-year-old man named Jamel Hoang was spared imprisonment after pleading guilty to raping a girl under the age of 13, with the court considering he was 'misled' about her true age. The court heard that the 12-year-old girl agreed to have sex with Hoang at his residence in July of the previous year. Hoang, of High Town Road, Luton, Beds, admitted to the offence, which qualifies as rape due to the girl’s inability to give legal consent. He received a nine-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months.

Hoang was also ordered to register as a sex offender for ten years and is prohibited from having unsupervised contact with anyone under 16 for five years. Judge Gareth Davies explained, 'You could have gone to prison today for about 15 months but I take into account that you were misled about her age and that she consented and may have been fairly anxious to get involved.'

Prosecutor Beverley Cripps stated that Hoang had sex with the victim and her 16-year-old friend, later bragging about it via text message to a friend. Hoang was arrested after the girl confided in her foster carer. When questioned about his awareness of her age, Hoang appeared 'dumbfounded,' claiming he believed she was 16. Evidence included photographs he had taken of her, which suggested she looked older than her actual age.