November 2012 Sex text shame of sports coach A SPORTS coach who ‘exploited’ two teenage girls has been jailed for more than two years. Richard Taylor, 41, of Browns Crescent, Chickerell, appeared atDorchester Crown Court to be sentenced for two counts of meeting a child following sexual grooming and two counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. He admitted the charges at an earlier hearing. Prosecutor Simon Jones told the court that police officers who examined Taylor’s phone found around 100 text messages sent between him and the two schoolgirls, some sexually explicit. One girl was aged 14 and the other aged 14 to 15 when the offences were committed between December last year and September 2012. Mr Jones said: “In the course of this contact the defendant had arranged to meet at the address intending to get her and the other girl drunk and have sex with them. “These offences came to light in September when the girl’s mother saw the content of her daughter’s mobile phone after she had become concerned about her daughter’s texting in recent weeks.” He added: “The defendant made full admissions in interview to sending explicit text messages, saying he got stupid, flattered, and carried away.” In mitigation, Jamie Porter admitted that Taylor, pictured, who is of previous good character, had ‘stepped over the boundaries of speculation’. He said: “He obviously regrets heavily the activities he has engaged in and he accepts there has been severe harm to the children and that it has had an impact on everyone surrounding them.” He added: “He was not intending to be present on the day they had arranged to meet.” Judge Roger Jarvis sentenced Taylor to two years and four months imprisonment for each of the four counts, with the sentences to be served concurrently. He ordered him to be on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years and disqualified him from working with children. Judge Jarvis also made Taylor subject to a Sexual Offences Prevention Order, which is valid until further order. He said: “You exploited the natural curiosity of adolescence and you exploited the excitement I dare say these young girls felt that a man of your age had shown interest. You should have known better.” He added: “In the pre-sentence report you are described as predatory and a manipulator, and it is not hard to see why the author reaches this view.” IN a victim impact statement, the mother of one of the girls said she was ‘shocked and disgusted’ by Taylor’s actions. She said: “I spoke to my daughter about what I had found and she became upset and said it was all her fault. She told me they were planning to go round to his house when his wife was going to be away and she became upset and tearful.”