Wheatley Hill man bombarded teenage girl with increasingly suggestive texts

The messages sent by 36-year-old Anthony Alan Luke, initially “innocent” in nature, became increasingly more suggestive, indicating he wanted to have sex with the girl.

Durham Crown Court heard that over two months he sent her more than 1,000 texts, including 109 on one day.

It came to light when the girl’s mother found a text from him to her daughter which was followed by several kisses.

His name was listed as “sender” and, when confronted, he claimed he lost his phone the previous night, implying his son must have sent the offending text.

But, when the boy was asked, he said he had his own phone and was unaware of the girl’s number.

Police were contacted and, when arrested, Luke repeated his claim that he lost his phone and so could not be responsible for the text found by the girl’s mother.

But further examination of the girl’s phone revealed the extent and nature of his texts.

David Lamb, prosecuting, said Luke urged the girl to delete the messages, so he would not get into trouble.

The girl told police that Luke would give her money to top up her pay-as-you-go phone.

Luke, now 38, of Greenwood Close, Wheatley Hill, County Durham, denied two counts of inciting a girl to indulge in sexual activity.

But, on the day of trial, he changed his pleas to guilty.

Matthew Hardyman, mitigating, said Luke, of previous good character, had suffered a depressive illness, and, “struggled to come to terms with the fact he had developed an unhealthy attraction to female children”, in the years since his wife left him, in 2005.

Judge Esmond Faulks, who previously warned Luke to expect a prison sentence, said he has “persuaded” by the contents of a probation recommendation that he should be made subject of an intensive sex offender treatment programme.

Judge Faulks, therefore, imposed three years’ supervision, and made Luke subject of an unlimited Sexual Offences Prevention Order.

He must also register as a sex offender for five years.