A JUDGE has warned a 23-year-old man that he faces jail after admitting he had sex with a 13-year-old schoolgirl.
Mark Cochrane was told by Judge John Walford that he faced a custodial sentence after he was found guilty of having sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 16.
But at Teesside Crown Court yesterday, Cochrane, of Balmer Hill, Gainford, near Darlington, was cleared by a jury of two charges of rape, attempted rape, and two charges of indecent assault.
The court had earlier heard how Cochrane had allegedly raped a 13-year-old girl in the back of his Ford Escort after asking if she wanted to go for a drive around Teesdale.
The girl, who was 13 at the time, claimed Cochrane had raped her twice after he forced her to perform a sex act on him in the front seat of his car.
Cochrane admitted to police that they had sex, but he told officers that he believed her to be a mature 15-year-old and that she had consented.
Another charge related to an alleged incident in which a 36-year-old woman, who is the mother of one of Cochrane's friends, was indecently assaulted by him.
Cochrane claimed that he had picked her up in Barnard Castle when she was waiting for a taxi, and that he had driven to a secluded spot and they had kissed, but that she had consented.
The other charges related to alleged incidents involving two other teenage girls, between January 1999 and December last year.
In his summing up, Judge John Walford said that although Cochrane had been cleared of two counts of rape and indecent assault, as well as an allegation of attempted rape, he was very likely facing a custodial sentence for having unlawful sex.
Judge Walford said: "Considering the offence of unlawful sexual intercourse, a custodial sentence must be inevitable.
"Mark Cochrane, you have been convicted by the jury, and in your admission, you committed a serious offence, and on that basis you can expect a custodial sentence."
Cochrane was also told that he would be placed on the Sex Offenders' Register, and that pre-sentence reports would be required before he was sentenced. He was granted bail on the condition he did not approach any of the prosecution witnesses.
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