A pervert who plied a teenage girl with alcohol as he groomed her for his own depraved sexual gratification has been locked up.

Colin White regularly performed sex acts on the teenager in his County Durham home for several months in the early 2000s and had been disturbed on one occasion when his young son walked into the room.

The postman was cleared of two charges of rape against the same victim following a trial at Durham Crown Court last week.

Chris Baker, prosecuting, said the victim trusted the defendant and told jurors that she had taken so long to come forward with the allegations as she feared no one would believe her.

Read more: Trawl of River Tees was part of search for the body of missing Andrew Stones

He added: “It’s clear that he would ply the complainant with alcohol before the behaviour took place. On one occasion she became so upset that she attacked him with a knife.

“She went on to describe how she made an attempt on her own life.”

In a victim impact statement, she said the abuse had left her feeling suicidal and still lives with the trauma more than 20 years later.

She said: “It affected me most because he subjected me to my first sexual appearance, he took my choice away and I didn’t get to choose the first person I got to take such a huge milestone with – which looking back was devastating.

“Looking back, I did know what he was doing was bad but they way he was doing it was so manipulative with alcohol, kindness and compliments, I will never fully understand at the time was that he groomed me for his own sexual gratification.”

The Northern Echo: Colin WhiteColin White (Image: Durham Constabulary)

White, of Fewston Close, Newton Aycliffe, was found guilty of two charges of indecent assault. He was cleared of one charge of rape on the same victim following his trial and the prosecution offered no evidence of a further charge of rape after the jury failed to reach a verdict.

Robert Mochrie, mitigating, reminded the judge that his client had been cleared of two charges of rape against the teenager.

He added: “This was a child who was groomed, even if she had been ostensibly consenting at the time.”

Read next:

Judge James Adkin jailed White for a total of seven years for both offences.

He said: “At the time of these offences you were in your 40s and the victim used to stay overnight as you worked as a postman and you decided to use her for sex.

“She was particularly vulnerable due to her age and her isolation.”

White was also ordered to sign on the sex offenders’ register for life and was issued with an indefinite restraining order.