‘Manipulative’ paedophile, 22, who convinced family he was a teenager so he could stay at their home and sexually abuse their 13-year-old daughter is jailed for eight years
- Adam Beale pretended to be 17 so he could stay with a family in Portsmouth
- He was actually 22, and abused girl, 13, after ‘worming way into their home’
- Beale, now 31, admitted he was in ‘relationship’ with the girl for 20 months
- She has since suffered from mental health issues as result of continued abuse
- Beale was jailed for eight years at Portsmouth Crown Court today
Adam Beale, 31, pictured, convinced a family he was a teenager when aged 22 in 2010 and was allowed to stay with them while he secretly abused their 13-year-old daughter
A ‘manipulative’ paedophile has been jailed for eight years today after he duped an entire family into believing he was a teenager so he could stay with them and sexually abuse their 13-year-old daughter.
Adam Beale pretended to be 17 when he was actually 22 so he could groom the girl under her parents’ roof and was so convincing he became ‘part of her family’, a court heard.
He regularly made 100-mile trips to his victim’s home in Portsmouth, Hampshire, and ‘wormed his way’ into being part of the family, convincing her parents that their relationship was purely platonic.
Portsmouth Crown Court heard the family were ‘totally in the dark’ about his real age and intentions, while the teenage girl, who cannot be identified, became ‘infatuated’ with him.
Beale, now 31 and having been convicted of a string of other child sex offences, was jailed for eight years after he admitted abusing the teenager, telling the court he was in a ‘relationship’ with her for 20 months.
The victim, now in her 20s, has suffered mental health issues including post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, self-harm and anxiety as a result of the abuse.
Sentencing, Judge William Ashworth said: ‘The effect of what you did to the girl was utterly devastating.
‘She was a child with no sexual experience and you turned her into someone who was infatuated with you and who surrendered her virginity to you.
‘You groomed her so well she was completely under your spell and you abused the trust of her parents by becoming part of the family.’
Beale made regular trips from his home in Maidstone, Kent, to the girl’s home in Portsmouth after they met online in 2010.
Prosecutor Martyn Booth said: ‘She told him she was 13-years-old when they first met which he said he didn’t have a problem with despite him being aged 22 while claiming to be 17.
‘The very foundation of the relationship was based on lies. She quickly became infatuated with him but that was down to the difference in age.’
At the end of their first day spent together, Beale claimed he misses his train home and persuaded the victim to spend the night under a bridge where sexual activity took place.
Beale was jailed for eight years for the offences at Portsmouth Crown Court, pictured
Mr Booth added: ‘He persuaded her they could now have a normal adult sex life.
‘She wanted to impress him and didn’t want to disappoint him.
‘Her parents were completely unaware about the nature of the relationship and that they were having sex together when he stayed at the house.’
Beale even tried to convince the girl to engage in sexual activity with one of her female friends.
Describing her ordeal, the victim said: ‘He took away my innocence and exposed me to things I should not have been exposed to.
‘He groomed me so well that I thought I was in love with him. I was a puppet and would do anything for him.
‘The fact my virginity was taken by someone who is attracted to children will stay with me for the rest of my life.’
Beale, who is already serving time in prison after he was jailed in 2018 for three years for child sex offences, admitted nine charges of sexual activity with a child.
In 2013 Beale was jailed for 16 months for possession of indecent images of children.