Shropshire boy, 17, locked up for rape after sex with underage girl
A 17-year-old boy who had "consensual" sex with an underage girl in Shropshire has received 14 months in custody after being charged with rape.
No force, threats or grooming were used by the boy and the girl had agreed to the sex, Shrewsbury Crown Court heard.
But anyone under 16 is not old enough to give consent to sex in the eyes of the law, so the boy was charged with rape.
He openly admitted what had happened and pleaded guilty to rape of a child, after the encounter at his home last December.
The court heard the pair, who cannot be named for legal reasons, exchanged Facebook messages which were sexual but not graphic.
They arranged for the girl to sleep over at the boy's house while a parent was at home but the girl was not truthful to her family about where she was staying.
During the evening the pair had unprotected sex and the matter came to light after the girl told a friend.
The school nurse was informed and the police called and the boy, who is now 18, was arrested and questioned.
He admitted what had happened and a statement by the girl read in court on Friday said she felt just as much to blame for breaking the law.
Judge Robin Onions said: "I don't think he is alone as a young man sitting in the dock wondering why he is there when it was consenual. But the law protects girls and it protects them from themselves."
Judge Onions said the charge carried a sentence of eight to 13 years in prison. But he said in the circumstances it would be an injustice if he were to adhere to the sentencing guidelines for that offence.
