Former rugby player faces jail over child sex charges (From Northwich Guardian)

Former rugby player faces jail over child sex charges

1:00pm Wednesday 1st February 2012 in News By Court reporter

A SEXUAL predator who preyed on a teenage girl after befriending her on the internet is facing a lengthy spell behind bars.

Insurance broker Gavin Venter, from Drillfield Road, in Northwich, took advantage of the 14-year-old girl from Teesside after meeting her on a social networking site.

The former rugby player, whose career ended after a car crash in Whitegate in 2003, started having highly explicit online chats with the young teen.

Venter, 25 at the time, asked the girl for ‘naughty’ photos of herself and performed a sex act, which she saw via webcam.

Just days after the grooming began he drove to Teesside, where the girl lived with her unsuspecting family.

Unknown to her parents, the girl was picked up by Venter from near her home before he drove her to Northwich, where he sexually abused her.

The girl’s parents, extremely concerned by her disappearance, reported her missing to police.

Venter was later arrested and denied any wrongdoing, insisting he thought the girl was 16.

But he was convicted on Thursday by a Teesside Crown Court jury of five sexual offences relating to the teen.

The defendant, now 27, was found guilty of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, meeting a child following sexual grooming and two offences of sexual activity with a child.

The jury took just over two hours to reach their verdicts after a nine-day trial. The offences occurred in a week in June 2010.

Prosecutor Rosalind Scott Bell said Venter knew that the girl was only 14 and under the age of legal consent.

Venter told the girl he loved her and wanted to marry her.

The court heard he also had sexually explicit online chats with a number of other underage girls.

When interviewed by police, Venter told officers he thought she was 16 and claimed she had “initiated” much of what happened.

Giving evidence, he described how his promising rugby career had ended after a horrific car crash in 2003.

He told the court he suffered serious physical and mental injuries after the accident.

He said he suffered from drink problems and depression and denied being sexually attracted to underage girls.

Sentencing was adjourned for reports. Venter was given bail with stringent conditions, including not accessing the internet.