Before affording £500 worth of toys, a Sheffield paedophile, Simon Murch, instructor sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl in a hotel.
Sheffield-based Simon Murch met his victim online after she informed him she was aged 18 when she was just 12.
The 55-year-old, Simon Murch, would have known the child was underage once she was picked up from her house, the prosecution claims.
Before shopping for £500 worth of toys, a paedophile instructor sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl at a hotel.
Sheffield-based Simon Murch contacted his victim online after she informed him she was aged 12 rather than eighteen.
The 55-year-old, Simon Murch, would have known the child was underage once she was picked up from her house, the prosecution claims.
Simon Murch had asked her to forward personal pictures of herself, and they set up to meet at The Tollgate Hotel in Blurton, Stoke-on-Trent.
Before they entered, the girl stayed in the car as he reserved the room; Stoke-On- Trent Crown Court heard Simon Murch raped her.
Then he brought her to a Smyths toy store and spent £500 on her.
Later, though, the girl told a schoolteacher she had a sugar boyfriend, and Simon Murch was jailed.
He spent seven-and-a-half years behind bars with a one-year extended licence.
Anyone she would have been underage would have easily known. There is a certain amount of significant preparation involved.
Simon Murch, of Parkside Road, Hillsborough, Sheffield, entered a guilty plea to rape of a child under thirteen.
Judge Graeme Smith remarked: “It would have been apparent when you saw her that she was far younger than eighteen. You carried on just as usual.
As a teacher, you should have been aware of the hazards. She was not an adult when you met her.
From Staffordshire Police’s Child Protection and Exploitation Team (CPET), Detective Constable Jordan Kirkland said: “I’d want to commend the survivor in this case and her family for their great bravery in coming forward and telling us what Simon Murch did.”
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