Teen jailed for sexual activity with a child in Norwich
He faced a string of offences
An 18-year-old who ignored a Child Abduction Warning Notice and later admitted four counts of sexual activity with a child has been jailed.
Tai Mitchell, of Swanspool, Peterborough, appeared at Norwich Crown Court on Wednesday 24th February and was sentenced to a total of 28 months in prison for four counts of sexual activity with a child in Norwich and Peterborough between 1 February 2019 and 12 March 2020.
He admitted the offences at an earlier hearing. Mitchell was 17-years-old when he committed the offences.
During the hearing, he was also sentenced for separate offences of abducting a child, common assault, possessing a bladed article, theft, burglary, driving while disqualified, aggravated vehicle taking and taking a vehicle without consent and received an additional 20-month custodial sentence.
Mitchell was imprisoned for a total of four years.
He had previously been issued with a Child Abduction Warning Notice on 3 May 2019.
Police can issue Child Abduction Warning Notices for children up to the age of 16 for children living in the care of their family or up to the age of 18 if they are in the care of the local authority. They are issued to individuals who do not have permission to associate with the named child and if they do so after the CAWN has been issued, they can be arrested.
Temporary Det Sgt Michael Simpson, who led the investigation, said:
"Failure to adhere to Child Abduction Warning Notices can have serious consequences for those who choose to flout the notice - it is a warning from the police that they must stay away from the child.
"The notice provides us with a way of trying to protect some of our most vulnerable children and young people when we have a genuine concern that they're being exploited. This sentence shows we will take action against those who choose to disregard this police warning preferring instead to exploit and abuse a child for their own gain."