FRIENDS who filmed themselves having sex with a teenage girl in a video which was later uploaded to the internet have been jailed.

Connor Hayes, of Namu Road in Bournemouth, and William Wright, of Andover Green in Bovington, were each sentenced to two years in prison after exploiting their vulnerable victim in 2014.

Hayes, 24, befriended the girl first. The victim was over the age of consent but under 18, meaning it is against the law to make or possess indecent images of her.

In November that year, Hayes persuaded the girl to take part in a sex video with his friend Wright, 24, telling the girl that the video was just for them and would not be shown to anyone else.

Hayes told her that if the video got out he would be in trouble as she was under the age of 18, the court was told.

After it had been recorded, the victim asked the pair to delete the video.

However, in November 2015 it was discovered that the video had been uploaded to the internet.

On December 15 2015, both were arrested. Computers and phones were seized from their homes.

When police examined Wright's iPhone, ten video clips and 27 still images of the victim were found.

A further 18 indecent images of the victim were found on a laptop used by Hayes.

In December last year, Hayes appeared at Bournemouth Crown Court to admit taking an indecent moving image of a child, possession of indecent images of a child and paying for the sexual services of a child.

Wright appeared at the same court in February of this year to admit taking an indecent moving image of a child, intentionally obtaining for himself the sexual services of a child under the age of 18, distributing an indecent moving image of a child and making indecent images of a child.

Both were jailed and handed a five-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order for their crimes.

Detective Constable Mandy Brimicombe, of the Integrated Missing Persons and Child Sexual Exploitation Team (IMPACT), said: "Hayes and Wright exploited their victim's vulnerability to engage in sexual acts with her.

"They knew full well that she was under the age of 18 when they published videos of her on the internet. This is a serious criminal offence.

"Child Sexual Exploitation is a crime that can affect any child, anytime, anywhere, regardless of their social or ethnic background.

"CSE can be carried out by individuals, by street gangs or by groups.

"It can be motivated by money or by sexual gratification.

"But in all cases, there is an imbalance of power - vulnerable children are controlled and abused by adults or by other children.

"We are determined to identify perpetrators of CSE and bring them to justice."

For more information about CSE, visit dorset.police.uk/cse