A 23-YEAR-OLD man who befriended and sexually assaulted a teenage girl in a park has been jailed for three-and-a-half-years.

Jamie Keets, also known as Jamie Hooper, was sentenced at Bournemouth Crown Court on Friday (Dec2) after previously pleading guilty at the same court to five counts of sexual activity with a teenage girl under 16.

He also admitted one charge of failing to surrender to custody.

The court heard that in 2015 Dorset Police received information that Keets, who lives in Bournemouth, had become involved with a group of girls who were all aged under 16.

A short time later it was disclosed to officers that Keets regularly visited a park in the town and was seen to have sex with a teenage girl.

Keets struck up friendships with the girls and would buy them alcohol, the court heard.

He was arrested in June last year and questioned by officers before being released on police bail pending further enquiries.

He told officers he did not know that the girl was under the age of 16.

However, he failed to answer his police bail on Wednesday, May 25 this year and a wanted appeal was issued to the public.

He was arrested on Tuesday, July 12 and charged the same day.

Detective Constable Adam Taylor, of Dorset Police’s Child Sexual Exploitation Team, said: “I hope the sentence handed out by the court will send out a very clear message that anyone engaging in sexual activity with someone under the age of consent will be arrested and dealt with robustly by the courts.

"Dorset Police is committed to bringing offenders to justice and we will continue to work with our partner agencies to safeguard vulnerable children."