July 2012 Man jailed for molesting vulnerable teenage girl A MAN who molested a 17-year-old girl has been jailed for 20 months. Travis Clark kissed the teenager when they were alone and touched her inappropriately, Bristol Crown Court heard yesterday. The 40-year-old, of Wells Road, Knowle, pleaded guilty to two sexual assaults. The court heard he was drunk at the time he took advantage of the “vulnerable” girl. The father-of-three, whose partner is expecting another child, was banned from working with children for five years and told to register as a sex offender for ten years. Kirsty Real, prosecuting, said Clark approached the girl, grabbed her hand and kissed her. In an incident which followed he grabbed her over her clothes before sexually assaulting her, the court heard. Ms Real said: “She told him to stop. He continued for a few minutes. He rubbed her stomach and kissed her. “People appeared and the complainant jumped off her.” The matter was reported to police and, when interviewed, Clark told officers the complainant had flirted with him, they kissed and nothing further happened. Clark had no previous convictions for sexual assaults, the court was told. Edward Burgess, defending, said his client had not been in trouble since January 1994. Mr Burgess said: “He is a father to three children, aged 10, eight and six. His partner is due to have a fourth child in October. “She has been on anti-depressants for the last three years and the defendant is particularly concerned for her.” Mr Burgess said his client was striving to find work on a self-employed basis. He said: “This was a very ugly incident, which was without precedent and opportunistic. “Drink played its part, which was an aggravating feature, as well as the age difference. “It is a situation from which he has learnt a very sobering lesson.” Sentencing Clark, Judge Martin Picton told him: “The second charge is aggravated by the fact that your behaviour was persistent and unwelcome. “The young lady was 17 and subject to a degree of vulnerability, which you ignored in your drunken state. “For her the experience was terrible, upsetting and damaging.”